US President Donald Trump says he may travel to the Middle East this weekend as his negotiators seek to seal a Gaza hostages-for-ceasefire deal.

Trump said that a deal is "very close," and that he may depart on Saturday for the region.

"I may go there sometime toward the end of the week," Trump said from the White House on Wednesday.

The trip could occur on Sunday, Trump said, adding that "negotiations are going along very well".

Negotiators have been meeting in Egypt to try to complete an agreement.

Talks to end the war in Gaza have ramped up a notch, after Hamas handed over its lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be freed in a swap.

With Trump's 20-point plan now appearing closer than any previous effort to bring an end to the fighting, delegations were upgrading their p

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