Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, may travel to the region on Sunday if indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on a second phase of a ceasefire deal show progress this week.
Witkoff said Israel is dispatching negotiators to either Cairo or Doha to speak with Egyptian officials to discuss the next stage of the deal. The so-called second phase of the ceasefire deal, negotiated by the Biden administration, talks about ending the war between Israel and Hamas and the future of the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee on Tuesday night, Witkoff said if those discussions are positive, he may travel to the region on Sunday “to execute and finish an arrangement.”
“If that negotiation goes positively enough, this is the initial phase of the negotiation where we’ve set some boundaries, some contours about what we want to talk about and what the outcomes we expect to happen – from the United States at the direction of President Trump,” he said. “If it goes well, maybe I would be able to go on Sunday to execute and finish an arrangement.”
The first phase of a three-stage ceasefire is nearing its end on March 1. Israel and Hamas have largely stuck to the terms of the initial six-week ceasefire deal, despite violations claimed by both sides. The pause in fighting has facilitated the release of hostages Hamas kidnapped from Israel during its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, which triggered the 15-month war.
Israel, in exchange for the hostages, released Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, and allowed a scale up of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Moving to a second phase of the deal is viewed as critical to secure the release of more hostages Hamas holds, including American Israeli Edan Alexander, and the bodies of four other Americans.
Under the terms of the deal reached under President Biden, the hostage release and Palestinian prisoner exchange can continue beyond the six-week timeline as long as both sides agree to keep talking and respect a truce, despite not reaching agreement on moving into the second phase of the deal.
“Put phase two on track and have some additional hostage release, and we think that that’s a real possibility,” Witkoff said. “We had a lot of conversation this morning about that…and people are responsive – doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. It’s a very chaotic place, the Middle East.”
The second phase of the deal is supposed to determine an end to the war between Israel and Hamas and establish a new governing body in Gaza. A third phase is expected to begin reconstruction.
Witkoff said Hamas cannot be part of any new government.
“It is a red line for the Israelis,” he said.
