Trump Hints at Middle East Breakthrough as Israel Strikes Hezbollah Depots in Lebanon

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that a historic agreement may be within reach to end the Gaza war. Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump declared: “We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!”

His comments came one day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet him at the White House. The encounter follows Trump’s unveiling of a 21-point peace framework during talks with Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

“I think we have a deal,” Trump told reporters on Friday, insisting that the arrangement would secure the release of hostages, bring the war to an end, and initiate large-scale humanitarian aid to Gaza.

According to a diplomatic source cited by AFP, the plan envisions a permanent ceasefire, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the participation of the Palestinian Authority in administering the territory, alongside guarantees for demilitarization.

Netanyahu, speaking on Fox News on Sunday, voiced cautious openness to Trump’s framework but stressed his priorities: “We want to free our hostages. We want to get rid of Hamas rule and have them disarmed, Gaza demilitarized, and a new future set up for Gazans and Israelis alike, and for the whole region.”

Still, Netanyahu expressed skepticism over the Palestinian Authority’s role in future governance, saying: “The credibility or the likelihood of… a reformed Palestinian Authority that changes completely its stripes… well, good luck. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

This diplomatic urgency unfolds against a backdrop of persistent military conflict. as the Israeli military announced on Sunday that its forces had targeted and destroyed weapons depots belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, underscoring the volatility of a ceasefire that has failed to halt hostilities.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said: “A short while ago, the IDF struck Hezbollah weapon storage facilities in southern Lebanon. These weapon depots were used by the terrorist organization to advance and carry out terror attacks against the State of Israel.”

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency confirmed that Israeli air strikes hit areas near the towns of Kfar Rumman and Jarmak, while a drone strike targeted a residential home in the town of Humin.

Despite the ceasefire agreed in November 2024, which brought an end to more than a year of fierce clashes, Israel has continued regular air operations inside Lebanon and still maintains a military presence at five positions across the border. Meanwhile, Hezbollah faces mounting domestic and international pressure to hand over its arsenal, with the Lebanese army having prepared a plan to disarm the group beginning in the south.

On Saturday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected those calls, telling supporters during a commemoration of the first anniversary of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah’s killing by Israel that the movement would not disarm. Hezbollah, he said, remains committed to resistance and would not allow itself to be stripped of its weapons.

Hezbollah remains the only armed faction permitted to retain its arsenal following Lebanon’s civil war, justified at the time by its ongoing confrontation with Israel’s occupation of the south. Its power base lies in predominantly Shiite areas of southern and eastern Lebanon as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The group intensified its role in regional conflict in October 2023, when it launched rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Those exchanges spiraled into full-scale war by September 2024 before the ceasefire two months later temporarily froze hostilities.

The conflict has left deep scars. On October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters launched the deadliest assault in Israel’s history, killing 1,219 people—mostly civilians—according to Israeli figures, and taking 251 hostages, of whom 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 confirmed dead.

Israel’s military offensive in response has killed at least 66,005 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures, which the United Nations regards as reliable.

Trump’s initiative is unfolding as Israel faces deepening international isolation. Britain, France, Canada, and Australia have formally recognized Palestinian statehood, breaking with decades of U.S.-led diplomatic protocols. Arab and Muslim leaders have cautiously welcomed the American proposal but continue to demand an immediate halt to Israeli operations and a rejection of any lasting occupation of Gaza.

As Israel escalates its military strikes in Lebanon and Gaza, the intertwined crises are driving both regional instability and global diplomatic urgency. Whether Trump’s “something special” can transform battlefield deadlock into a lasting settlement remains to be seen.