Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will start negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire when he meets with U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Monday in Washington, Netanyahu's office said late on Saturday.
Steve Witkoff © LegiStorm
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will start negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire when he meets with U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Monday in Washington, Netanyahu's office said late on Saturday.
Netanyahu is scheduled to depart Israel on Sunday for Washington, where he is to meet next week with Trump at the White House to discuss Gaza and the Israeli hostages held there.
During his meeting with Witkoff, Netanyahu will discuss Israel's positions in respect to the ceasefire, the prime minister's office said. Witkoff will then speak with officials from Egypt and Qatar, who have mediated between Israel and Hamas over the past 15 months with backing from Washington.
Israel and Hamas last month reached a complex ceasefire agreement, to be implemented in three phases, that has halted the fighting in Gaza. Hamas has so far released 18 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians that are held in Israeli prisons and detentions.
There are more than 70 hostages still held in Gaza.
Reporting by Alexander Cornwell
US embassies in Jerusalem, Baghdad and Amman issued security alerts Saturday urging American citizens to exercise "heightened vigilance," as tensions flare between Iran and the United States. Americans were also told to "consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation."
President Donald Trump said Friday that Israel was "very happy" with an agreement reached by his so-called Board of Peace for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups in Gaza.
Britain has asked Cyprus to extradite a dual British-Azerbaijani national suspected of spying on a British air base on the Mediterranean island and passing his findings to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, London police said on Friday.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.