A newly established tent camp for displaced residents in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on Friday. (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)
President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel to the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday for ceasefire talks, according to a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. They would be the first Trump administration negotiations with both Hamas and Israel, focused on a ceasefire deal in Gaza and hostage releases.
“Israel is responding to the mediators’ invitation, backed by the United States and will send a delegation to Doha on Monday in an effort to advance the negotiations,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Saturday.
The first phase of the ceasefire ended March 1 without agreement on the next steps. Hamas insists on negotiations to reach the second phase, which would include a permanent end to the war. Israel has pushed for a temporary truce to secure the release of more hostages. Last week, Israel halted the entry of all humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave over the dispute.
U.S. negotiators have recently pursued separate, direct talks with Hamas in the hopes of winning the release of the remaining American hostage, Edan Alexander, and a number of other living captives. Trump told reporters on Thursday that “we are having discussions with Hamas” about U.S. and Israeli hostages.
Here’s what else to know
A total of 251 people were taken in the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and 145 have been freed or rescued. Of those remaining, 24 are believed to be alive, but Israel has not given the full basis of its estimates; 82 hostages have been confirmed killed.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom issued support Saturday for a plan by several Arab nations to rebuild Gaza without displacing its residents or allowing Hamas to stay in power. “Recovery and reconstruction efforts must be based upon a solid political and security framework acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians,” they said in a statement.