Trump’s administration envoy to the Middle East made a rare visit to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to a White House official, with the aim of reinforcing a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas who allowed thousands of displaced Palestinians to in their homes.
The envoy, Steven Witkoff, who is the US senior official who has been visiting Gaza for many years, also met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, on the eve of another round of hostages.
An Israeli official who talked about the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, said that while in Gaza, Mr Witkoff had visited the Netzarim corridor, who divides the enclave, where US security contractors have been recruited to help with Return hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who have moved north this week, many on foot.
High US officials have stayed away from Gaza for years, both due to security concerns and the official US policy without contact with Hamas.
Another Israeli official, who had not been authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Witkoff arrived in Israel to meet with Mr Netanyahu and several of his top assistants on Wednesday. Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, was also at the meeting, according to a third Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the minister’s timetable.
Before the American envoy went to Israel, he had discussions on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia about a wider peace plan in the Middle East, one of Israeli officials said. The White House official said Mr Witkoff had met Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Two Palestinian officials who called for anonymity to discuss a closed door meeting said Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, were also at the meeting.
Mr Witkoff’s visit to the region comes as Trump’s administration seeks to convey a broader Middle East peace agreement, which would include normalizing the diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a deal requested by President Trump his first term. But this pact depends largely on the plans for the future of Gaza.
Mr Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News last week that he was planning to visit the Netzarim corridor in Gaza and Philadelph’s corridor, which is further south and on the border with Egypt during the trip. But the timetable was unclear, as timetables travel usually closely maintained to ensure safety.
The US Embassy in Jerusalem declined to comment on Wednesday.
In the early days of the 15 -month war, the Israeli army ordered a massive evacuation of northern Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to leave south. For months, Israeli soldiers have been patrolling the Netzarim corridor, partly to prevent the Palestinians from returning north.
However, according to the terms of a 42 -day cease agreement that arrived this month, Israeli troops were withdrawn on Monday from the two main roads along the Netzarim corridor to allow gazans to head north. By Tuesday, more than 376,000 people had arrived in northern Gaza, according to the latest data from the UN office to coordinate humanitarian affairs.
The US company Safe Reach Solutions is expected to oversee the operational management of the corridor, according to one person familiar with the plan, while two other businesses – one American and one Egyptian – will handle the inspections of those north.
The Philadelphi corridor, as it is known in Israel, is a strip of about eight miles between Egypt and Gaza. The Israeli troops currently maintain control of the area, but are expected to be withdrawn during the second phase of the ceasefire, the details of which continue to negotiate. Mr Netanyahu called the corridor a “salvation” for Hamas smuggling operations.
Mr Witkoff played an important role in the mediation of the original ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, working with Biden, Qatar and Egypt administration officials on the days before the inauguration of Trump.
His visit comes a day before Israeli legislation aimed at the activities of the UN Main Organization that helps Palestinian refugees come into force. The laws would require the Agency, the Unrwa, to stop its activities in Eastern Jerusalem and prohibit any Israeli government contacts with the organization. UNRWA reports that the laws will bend its activities in the Israeli West Bank and Gaza.
Organization’s General Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini told the ambassadors to the United Nations on Tuesday that by restricting the organization’s businesses would “undermine the ceasefire”.
“It will sabotage Gaza’s recovery and political transition,” he said.
Dorothy Shea, the intermediary spokesman for Trump’s administration at the UN, rejected the Agency’s allegations as excessive and stated that the United States supported the “sovereign decision of Israel” to close UNRWA offices on its territory.
Israel and Unrwa have long been in opposition. Last year, Israel claimed that UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas’ leadership attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. A UN investigation found that nine officials might have been involved in the attack and the organization said they had been fired.
Mr Witkoff’s visit also comes in front of the third round of hostages and prisoners between Israel and Hamas expected on Thursday. An Israeli soldier, Agam Berger and two Israeli citizens – Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses – must be released on Thursday, along with five Thailand citizens, said Omer Dostri, a prime minister’s spokesman.
David Mencer, a government spokesman, said three more hostages would be released on Saturday. Under the ceasefire agreement, 33 Israeli hostages had to be released in the first phase in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Seven prisoners have already returned home and eight of the rest of the hostages are no longer alive, according to Israeli officials.
Mr Netanyahu was invited to meet with Mr Trump on February 4 at the White House.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio spoke with Egyptian and Qatar foreign ministers to discuss ongoing cooperation in Gaza. This would include “programming after the conflict to ensure that Hamas can never rule Gaza or threaten Israel again,” according to a reading of the Foreign Ministry of Mr Rubio with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty. Although Hamas has been weakened, the fighter team has survived the war in Gaza and remains the most powerful Palestinian party in the territory.
Mr Trump also called on Egypt and Jordan to take the Palestinians from Gaza and “clean” the territory, he told reporters last weekend. This has been rounded down by both countries and Wednesday, Mr Al-Sheikh, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, spoke with Mr Abdelatty to confirm the dismissal of Egypt the proposal of Mr Trump.
“The ways of integrating the cease and humanitarian aid were discussed and the support of the Palestinian people remaining on their land and the absolute rejection of their displacement were emphasized,” Mr Al-Sheikh told social media.
Aaron Boxerman and Patrick kingsley They contributed reports.
