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
In a striking political declaration, Fahad Al Masri, President of the National Salvation Front in Syria, has issued a bold call for a strategic alliance between post-Assad Syria, the United States and Israel, a move that would represent a seismic shift in the region's diplomatic landscape.
Hezbollah rejected a ceasefire plan agreed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments in U.S.-mediated talks, as Israel kept up strikes in southern Lebanon on Thursday and said it wouldn't be withdrawing from the south.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a new ceasefire after U.S.-mediated talks, the Trump administration said, raising hopes for progress toward ending the wider U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
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.