The US special envoy for the Middle East appointed by President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday amid efforts to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli officials said.
Steve Witkoff met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday to discuss “the latest developments in the region, particularly efforts towards a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” according to Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They said they had talked.
After the visit with mediator Qatar, an Israeli official told Reuters that Witkoff, who reportedly assured Reuters that the United States would continue to work towards an agreement to end the war quickly, will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said he was flying to Israel with plans to do so.
Mediators renew efforts to reach agreement to halt fighting in Gaza and release remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza by the time President Trump takes office on January 20. It is said that it does.
In an interview with National Public Radio, CIA Director William Burns confirmed the rumors, saying in the final days of the Joe Biden administration that the White House had concluded a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas before Trump took office. He indicated that he is working to make this happen.
“The negotiations that are taking place are very serious and there is a possibility that we could at least conclude a deal within the next few weeks,” Burns said in an interview with National Public Radio on Friday. “This administration worked very hard on that up until January 20th. I think the coordination with the new administration on this issue was successful. As you know, President-elect Trump will try to get an agreement before Inauguration Day. He has made his intentions clear.”
Director of the CIA Interview with Mary Louise Kelly on NPR's All Things Thought As Israel and Hamas appear to be inching closer to a cease-fire and hostage release agreement that could end the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, amid signs of optimism among decision-makers. It was done.
Hamas on Monday announced that 34 Israelis captured in the group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war could be released as part of the “first phase of a prisoner exchange deal.” It was announced that a list of prisoners of war had been provided to the arbitrators. ”.
Hamas says the list also includes other women, children, the elderly and the injured, but Israel says the militant group has not yet told whether the named people are alive or dead.
“I learned the hard way not to have expectations about ceasefire hostage negotiations,” Burns said. “I think there's still a chance to get a deal done. The gap between the two parties has narrowed,” he said.
Several rounds of talks brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have failed to produce a permanent ceasefire. Officials have repeatedly expressed optimism that a breakthrough is near only if negotiations are concluded.
Hamas insists that negotiations to secure the release of the hostages must be part of a comprehensive deal to end hostilities in Gaza, while Prime Minister Netanyahu is seeking a more piecemeal deal. The United States is aiming for an agreement that is expected to free some, but not all, people. While holding hostages, it maintains Israel's privilege to resume fighting against Hamas after the agreement expires.
The hostage crisis and ceasefire agreement have been the center of intense debate in Israeli media in recent weeks. Critics have accused Netanyahu of deliberately delaying the deal, ostensibly to wait for President Trump to take office.
Western intelligence estimates that at least a third of the approximately 95 Israeli prisoners remaining in Gaza have been killed. Despite the latest talks, Israel has stepped up airstrikes on the Palestinian territories, killing at least 100 people over the weekend, local health officials said.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Prime Minister Netanyahu said he was “betting that Hamas will succumb to President Trump's pressure campaign,” but pointed out that “the prime minister has been wrong many times in the past about the impact of various events on Hamas' negotiating position.” did.
Kobi Michael, a senior fellow at the Misgab Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, an Israeli think tank, told Agence France-Presse earlier this week that “we don't expect much progress until President Trump takes office.”
Trump's return to the presidency could be an advantage for Netanyahu's expansionist policies, especially regarding settlement expansion and possible annexation of the West Bank.
President Trump said there would be “hell in hell” if Hamas did not release the hostages before the inauguration, suggesting he was seeking an agreement by the day before the inauguration.
The situation in Gaza, where almost all of the 2.3 million people live in temporary housing, is facing cold, wet winter weather that is causing flooding.
At least 46,537 Palestinians have been killed and 109,571 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Health said on Saturday. Approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 were taken hostage in the Hamas attack.
