Summary
- Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, visiting
Israel and Gaza.
- Meeting PM Netanyahu, aiming to end the Gaza war
collectively.
- Inspected Gaza aid sites with Israeli and US presence.
- Discussed new ceasefire and humanitarian aid
strategies.
- Met Israeli hostage families, pledged efforts for release.
Despite stalled negotiations, Trump has made
resolving the problem a top priority of his administration. The worsening
humanitarian situation in the enclave is putting increasing pressure on Israel's
leadership, which is why Steve Witkoff is there.
In a recording of the meeting, reviewed by Reuters, Witkoff is heard saying:
"We have a very, very good plan that we're working on collectively with the Israeli government, with Prime Minister Netanyahu... for the reconstruction of Gaza. That effectively means the end of the war."
An inquiry on his comments was not immediately answered by the White House.
Although Hamas has stated time and time again
that it will not give up its weapons, Witkoff added that the organization was
willing to disarm in order to put an end to the conflict. Hamas, which has
controlled Gaza since 2007 but has been brutally beaten by Israel in the
conflict, responded to the reported comments by declaring that it would not
give up "armed resistance" until an "independent, fully
sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" was created.
Last week, indirect talks between Israel and
Hamas to secure a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and an agreement for the
release of half the captives came to a standstill.
Hamas published its second video of Israeli
hostage Evyatar David in as many days on Saturday. Skeletocratic David is shown
in the video excavating a hole, which he claims is for his own grave.
Netanyahu and Witkoff met Thursday.
A senior Israeli official then echoed Israel's
main demands for ending the war, saying that an agreement between Israel and
Washington was developing that it was necessary to go from a plan to free some
of the hostages to a plan to free all of them, disarm Hamas, and demilitarize
the Gaza Strip.
France and Saudi Arabia issued a statement on
Tuesday detailing steps for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, which Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, welcomed.
They stated that Hamas must transfer its weapons to the Palestinian Authority,
which is supported by the West.
When Witkoff came to Israel, Netanyahu's
administration was dealing with international condemnation over the destruction
in Gaza and the rising rates of famine among its 2.2 million citizens.
A number of Western nations have also declared
they may recognize a Palestinian state as a result of the conflict.
The United Nations has partially attributed the
lethal conditions in the enclave to a US-backed relief effort in southern Gaza,
which Witkoff visited on Friday. He claimed to have been there to deliver food
and other supplies to the Palestinians there.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked southern
Israel, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli
authorities, sparking the start of the Gaza war. According to Gaza health
officials, Israel's offensive has since killed over 60,000 Palestinians.
Israeli sources say that only 20 of the 50 hostages who are still in Gaza are thought to be alive.
How might Witkoff’s meetings with hostage families influence U.S. policy?
Steve Witkoff’s meetings with the families of
hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are likely to influence U.S. policy by signaling
a shift toward a more comprehensive, “all-or-nothing” approach to ending the
Gaza conflict and securing the release of all hostages simultaneously, rather
than pursuing partial or phased deals.
During these meetings in Tel Aviv, Witkoff
conveyed that President Trump now supports a strategy to bring all hostages
home at once, moving away from prior incremental deals that aimed for phased
hostage releases alongside ceasefires.
Witkoff acknowledged the failure of the
incremental approach pursued by Israel and the U.S. over the past six months
and emphasized that any future agreement must include Hamas’s demilitarization
and disarmament. This marks a policy stance that aims at a conclusive end to
the war and complete resolution on the hostages’ situation.