U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, an Israeli official said, amid efforts to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza.
American business person Steve Witkoff makes remarks next to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. January 7, 2025. Reuters/Carlos Barria
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, an Israeli official said, amid efforts to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza.
A second Israeli official said some progress had been made in the indirect talks between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, to reach a deal in Gaza.
The mediators are making new efforts to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the enclave and free the remaining Israeli hostages held there before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump said talks in Cairo between mediators and Hamas leaders on Thursday have led to a phased disarmament agreement in Gaza, but a Hamas official described the deal as a draft and U.S. officials said Israel was skeptical the militant Palestinian group would surrender its weapons.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun arrived in Ankara on Thursday for an official visit during which he is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss economic and security cooperation.
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