Trump signals imminent Gaza ceasefire announcement after receiving handwritten note during event

President Donald Trump indicated a Gaza ceasefire announcement was imminent after Secretary of State Marco Rubio handed him a handwritten note during a Wednesday roundtable with conservative influencers in the White House Blue Room.

An image taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci captured a note reading, “Very close. We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.” Shortly afterward, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was “very proud” to announce the first phase of a deal, writing: “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”

Before the post, as the event proceeded, Rubio—standing at the back of the Blue Room—signaled he had news for the president that would need to wait until the media departed, then passed Trump the note. Trump told attendees, “I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal on the Middle East, and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly. So we’ll take a couple of more questions.”

The note’s urgency coincided with ongoing talks involving Trump’s top Middle East adviser, Steve Witkoff, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and other senior officials, who had joined a third day of negotiations between Israel and Hamas at an Egyptian resort focused on a U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza.

At the start of the influencer event, Trump told reporters he planned to travel to the Middle East “toward the end of the week” and could “make the rounds” in the region to Egypt and possibly Gaza as U.S. negotiators moved toward an agreement.

Following the exchange with Rubio, Trump continued fielding questions while the secretary of state appeared visibly anxious. Nearly ten minutes later, Trump said, “I have to go now to try and solve some problems in the Middle East – although I’m very well represented by our secretary of state. He could probably do an even better job than me, but who knows. We don’t want to take any chances. So we’re going to go and do that.”

Trump suggested Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem remain to take questions in his absence, but he continued answering queries, and the event concluded without cabinet members staying behind.

“We’re gonna get peace in the Middle East,” Trump said in closing. “That’s what we want to do.”