United States President Donald Trump said he believes a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas could be reached within a week, Al Jazeera reported.

Trump came out with the surprise comment while speaking to reporters on Friday, saying he was hopeful after speaking to some of the people involved in trying to get a truce.

“I think it’s close. I just spoke to some of the people involved,” Trump said.

“We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire,” the president said, without revealing who he had been in contact with.

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman in Jordan, said Trump’s comment will be “welcome news” to the starved and bombed population of Gaza, but she also cautioned that there are “no negotiations at this moment happening anywhere in the region”.