US special envoys in Israel to discuss future of Gaza

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The U.S. on Thursday announced plans for a "New Gaza" rebuilt from scratch, to include residential towers, data centres and seaside resorts, part of President Donald Trump's push to advance an Israel-Hamas ceasefire shaken by repeated violations.

The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the U.S. to temporarily administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, said on Thursday that the Rafah border crossing - effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2 million people who live there - would open next week.

Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border's expected opening.

The border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of Trump's plan to end the war, under a ceasefire reached in October between Israel and Hamas.

The death toll in Gaza since October 7, 2023, now stands at 71,654, and the death toll since the October ceasefire at 481, according to data from Gaza's health ministry on Saturday.

Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory's administration.

The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.

Trump also said on Thursday that the United States has an "armada" heading toward Iran, but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.