President Donald Trump has warned that he would impose sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire.
United States special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow, days before the White House’s deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or face economic penalties.
President Donald Trump has warned that he would impose sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire in its war on Ukraine before Friday.
The White House has not outlined specific actions it plans to take, but Trump has previously threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” against Russia’s trade partners, such as India and China.
After arriving in Moscow on Wednesday, Witkoff was met by presidential special representative Kirill Dmitriev, Russian state news agency TASS said.
Dmitriev had played a key role in direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in recent months, as well as discussions between Russian and US officials.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed on Monday Witkoff’s visit. “We consider (talks with Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful,” he said.
The Kremlin has not said whether Witkoff will meet President Vladimir Putin during his visit.
When reporters asked Trump on Monday what Witkoff’s message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Trump replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”
Witkoff, a real estate billionaire, has had several long meetings with Putin. He had no diplomatic experience before joining Trump’s team in January, and critics have portrayed him as over his head for such tasks.
Three previous rounds of peace talks in Istanbul in an attempt to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have failed to make headway.
Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said on Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending the nearly three-and-a-half-year offensive were unchanged. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support, including seeking NATO membership.
Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week urged his allies to push for “regime change” in Moscow.
The coming week could bring an important moment in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as President Trump’s deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal approaches — or it could simply melt away.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow in the middle of this week, just before Trump’s Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing or face potentially severe economic penalties from Washington.
Previous Trump promises, threats and cajoling have failed to yield results., and the stubborn diplomatic stalemate will be hard to clear away. Meanwhile, Ukraine is losing more territory on the front line, although there is no sign of a looming collapse of its defenses.
Trump envoy expected at Kremlin
Witkoff was expected to land in the Russian capital on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Trump, following his trip to Israel and Gaza.
“They would like to see” Witkoff, Trump said Sunday of the Russians. “They’ve asked that he meet so we’ll see what happens.”
Trump, exasperated that Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t heeded his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, a week ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, including China and India.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that officials are happy to meet with Trump’s envoy. “We are always glad to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow,” he said. “We consider [talks with Witkoff] important, substantive and very useful.”
Trump not sure sanctions will work
Trump said Sunday that Russia has proved to be “pretty good at avoiding sanctions.”
“They’re wily characters,” he said of the Russians.
The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbor have had a limited impact.
Ukraine insists the sanctions are taking their toll on Moscow’s war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them up. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged the United States, Europe and other nations to impose stronger secondary sanctions on Moscow’s energy, trade and banking sectors.
Trump’s comments appeared to signal he doesn’t have much hope that sanctions will force Putin’s hand.
The secondary sanctions also complicate Washington’s relations with China and India, who stand accused of helping finance Russia’s war effort by buying its oil.
Since taking office in January, Trump has found that stopping the war is harder than he perhaps imagined.
Senior American officials have warned that the U.S. could walk away from the conflict if peace efforts make no progress.
Putin shows no signs of concessions
The diplomatic atmosphere has become more heated as Trump’s deadline approaches.
Putin announced last Friday that Russia’s new hypersonic missile, the Oreshnik, has entered service.
The Russian leader has hailed its capabilities, saying its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at speeds of up to Mach 10 cannot be intercepted. They are so powerful, he said, that the use of several of them in one conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.
Also, one of Putin’s top lieutenants warned that the Ukraine war could nudge Russia and the U.S. into armed conflict.
Trump responded to what he called the “highly provocative statements” by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev by ordering the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines.
Putin has repeated the same message throughout the war: He will only accept a settlement on his terms and will keep fighting until they’re met.
Thousands of troops, civilians have died
Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. It has pushed on with that tactic despite Trump’s public calls for it to stop over the past three months.
On the 620-mile front line, Russia’s bigger army has made slow and costly progress. It is carrying out a sustained operation to take the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub whose fall could open the way for a deeper drive into Ukraine.
Ukraine has developed technology that has allowed it to launch long-range drone attacks deep inside Russia. In its latest strike it hit an oil depot near Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, starting a major fire.
Witkoff will discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine as Trump says again that he wants a ‘deal where people stop getting killed’.
United States President Donald Trump said his special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Russia next week to continue talks on the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said Witkoff would visit, “I think next week, Wednesday or Thursday.”
Responding to questions from reporters on what Russia could do to avoid looming sanctions, the US president replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”
Trump also said that two nuclear submarines he deployed following an online row with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev were now “in the region.”
Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military.
Trump’s latest comments come after he recently described Russia’s actions in its war on Ukraine as “disgusting“, after a Russian attack on an apartment block in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killed 31 people on Thursday.
Ukraine is looking forward to receiving a US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system, which Trump has promised will be delivered, albeit with funding from Ukraine’s European allies, not the Trump administration.
Ukraine has also continued to launch its own attacks on Russia, with its most recent attacks on Sunday killing three people across the country and causing a major fire at an oil refinery.
A Ukrainian drone attack on Monday morning sparked a fire at a railway station in Russia’s Volgograd region, the regional administration said on Telegram.
As fighting has continued, Russian and Ukrainian officials have held several meetings in recent months in Istanbul, Turkiye.
The latest meeting secured an agreement to exchange 1,200 prisoners, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday.
Russia has yet to comment.
Witkoff, a real estate magnate and Trump golf partner, has already met with Russian President Vladimir Putin multiple times in Moscow in his role as a White House special envoy.
As a special envoy to the Middle East, he is also Trump’s representative in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which saw him visit Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, where he met with the families of captives held in Gaza.
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — President Trump’s Mideast envoy on Friday visited a food distribution site in the Gaza Strip operated by an Israeli-backed American contractor whose efforts to deliver food to the hunger-stricken territory have been marred by violence and controversy.
International experts warned this week that a “worst-case scenario of famine” is playing out in Gaza. Israel’s nearly 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving people.
Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, which has been almost completely destroyed and is now a largely depopulated Israeli military zone.
Hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while heading to such aid sites since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office. Israel and GHF say they have only fired warning shots and that the toll has been exaggerated.
In a report issued Friday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said GHF was at the heart of a “flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”
Hundreds have been killed seeking food
Witkoff posted on X that he had spent over five hours inside Gaza in order to gain “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.”
Chapin Fay, a spokesperson for GHF, said the visit reflected Trump’s understanding of the stakes and that “feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority.” The group says it has delivered over 100 million meals since it began operations in May.
All four of the group’s sites established in May are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and have become flashpoints of desperation, with starving people scrambling for scarce aid.
Over 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli fire since May while seeking aid in the territory, most near the GHF sites but also near United Nations aid convoys, the U.N. human rights office said last month.
The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.
Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said Friday they received the bodies of 13 people who were killed while trying to get aid, including near the site that U.S. officials visited. GHF denied anyone was killed at their sites on Friday and said most recent shootings had occurred near U.N. aid convoys.
Another 12 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, the hospital said.
The Israeli military said its forces had fired warning shots hundreds of meters (yards) away from the aid site at people it described as suspects and said had ignored orders to distance themselves from its forces. It said it was not aware of any casualties but was still investigating.
Witkoff’s visit comes a week after U.S. officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe. Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages.
Human Rights Watch slams Israeli-backed aid system
Human Rights Watch said in its report that “it would be near impossible for Palestinians to follow the instructions issued by GHF, stay safe, and receive aid, particularly in the context of ongoing military operations.” It cited doctors, aid seekers and at least one GHF security contractor.
Building on previous accounts, it described how thousands of Palestinians gather near the sites at night before they open. As they head to the sites on foot, Israeli forces control their movements by opening fire toward them. Once inside the sites, they race for aid in a frenzied fee-for-all, with weaker and more vulnerable people coming away with nothing, the rights group said.
Responding to the report, Israel’s military accused Hamas of sabotaging the aid distribution system, without providing evidence. It said it was working to make the routes under its control safer for those traveling to aid sites. GHF did not immediately respond to questions about the report.
The group has never allowed journalists to visit their sites and Israel’s military has barred reporters from independently entering Gaza throughout the war.
At a Friday press conference in Gaza City, representatives of the territory’s influential tribes accused Israel of empowering factions that loot aid sites and implored Witkoff to stay in Gaza to witness life firsthand. Israel denies aiding looters but says it backs factions that are opposed to Hamas.
“We want the American envoy to come and live among us in these tents where there is no water, no food and no light,” they said. “Our children are hungry in the streets.”
German foreign minister visits West Bank to highlight settler violence
Germany’s foreign minister visited Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian Christian village that has seen recent attacks by Israeli settlers. Johann Wadephul said Israel’s settlements are an obstacle to peace and condemned settler violence. He also called on Hamas to lay down its arms in Gaza and release the remaining hostages.
Germany has thus far declined to join other major Western countries in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state.
Palestinians in another nearby town laid to rest 45-year-old Khamis Ayad, who they say suffocated while extinguishing fires set by settlers during an attack the night before. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired live rounds and tear gas toward residents after the settlers attacked.
Israel’s military said police were investigating the incident. They said security forces found Hebrew graffiti and a burnt vehicle at the scene but had not detained any suspects.
There has been a rise in settler attacks, as well as Palestinian militant attacks on Israelis and large-scale Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza triggered the war there.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, that day and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Shurafa, Metz and Frankel write for the Associated Press. Metz reported from Jerusalem and Frankel from Tel Aviv.
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, as the death toll of Palestinians waiting for food and other aid continued to climb.
Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee will inspect food distribution in Gaza on Friday, the White House said.
At least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday. The victims included 54 people killed while awaiting food in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing on Wednesday, the ministry said. The toll is expected to rise further as many of those killed or wounded were brought to isolated, undersupplied hospitals in northern Gaza and have not yet been counted.
Israel’s military said Palestinians surrounded aid trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd, but reported no awareness of injuries resulting from Israeli fire.
A security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the gunfire came from within the crowd and resulted from altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid.
Scramble for airdropped food
Scenes of desperation and chaos played out again on Thursday as scores of Palestinians ran toward food aid dropped from the air in Zawaida, a city in central Gaza. Aid providers have turned to the skies as border crossings remain closed amid severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip.
The drops have set off stampedes and skirmishes as hungry crowds scream, fight and jostle for the parcels.
Eslam al-Telbany, a displaced woman from Jabaliya, said she was carrying a bottle of cooking oil and a sack of flour when she was attacked and bitten, ultimately dropping the items and returning home empty-handed.
“I went and my children prayed that I’d return with food. They haven’t eaten or drank anything for two days,” she said as she wept.
Ahmed al-Khatib said someone stole a bag of flour from him, and he broke a tooth in the struggle.
Rana Attia, another displaced woman, said people felt more dignified receiving text messages telling them where to collect aid rather than randomly chasing falling parcels under the scorching heat. “We don’t want them to help us that way,” she said.
‘Worst-case scenario’
Despite the airdrops, the amount of aid getting into Gaza remains far lower than the 500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organizations say are needed.
The Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, and 32 pallets of aid were airdropped into the territory.
Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza. The international community has heaped criticism on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
International organizations said that Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years, but that recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for two and a half months, mean that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”
Israel criticized by allies
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel on Thursday on a two-day trip that will also take him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Germany, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, has been increasingly critical recently of Israel’s actions in Gaza. It has insisted that Israel must do more to increase aid supplies and pushed for a ceasefire.
Berlin hasn’t joined major allies France, Britain, and Canada in saying it will recognize a Palestinian state in September. But in a statement ahead of his departure Thursday, Wadephul underlined Germany’s position that a two-state solution is “the only way” to ensure a future in peace and security for people on both sides.
“For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process. But such a process must begin now. Germany will not move from this aim,” Wadephul said.
A diplomatic push
Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, arrived in Israel on Thursday afternoon and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation and a possible ceasefire, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
It was the first meeting between Witkoff and Netanyahu since both Israel and the U.S. called their negotiation teams home from Qatar one week ago. Witkoff said at the time that Hamas “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce.
“The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Thursday morning.
Trump sent Witkoff to the region “in an effort to save lives and end this crisis,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, calling the president “a humanitarian with a big heart.”
The war started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Shurafa and Lidman write for the Associated Press. AP writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Sam Metz in Jerusalem and Imad Isseid in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — As the United Nations and global aid groups sound the alarm of widening starvation resulting from U.S.-backed Israeli food distribution policies in the Gaza Strip, the Trump administration said Thursday it is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and bringing its negotiating team home from Qatar to discuss next steps.
The apparent derailing of the talks comes as Israel’s blockade and military offensive have driven Gaza to the brink of famine, according to aid groups. The U.N. food agency says nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe, acute malnutrition, and the Gaza Health Ministry has reported a rise in hunger-related deaths.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would hold an emergency call Friday with officials from Germany and France to discuss how to urgently get food to people in need and pursue a plan to build a lasting peace.
“The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible,” he said in a statement. The three European countries “all agree on the pressing need for Israel to change course and allow the aid that is desperately needed to enter Gaza without delay.”
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France would recognize Palestine as a state, saying, “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved.
“Given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine,” Macron posted. “Peace is possible.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.
Israel has come under mounting pressure, with 28 Western-aligned countries calling for an end to the war and harshly criticizing Israel’s blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. More than 100 charity and human rights groups released a similar letter, saying even their own staff are struggling to get enough food.
In an open letter, 115 organizations, including major international aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, “waste away.”
The letter blamed Israeli restrictions and “massacres” at aid-distribution points. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated.
The Israeli government’s “restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the letter said.
The U.S. and Israel rejected the allegations and blamed Hamas for prolonging the war by not accepting their terms for a ceasefire.
Hamas’ latest response “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce, President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday.
“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” Witkoff said in a statement. “We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.”
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott would not offer details on what “alternative options” the U.S. is considering to free hostages held by the militant group.
A breakthrough on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas following 21 months of war has eluded the Trump administration as humanitarian conditions worsen in Gaza. Thursday’s move is the latest setback as Trump has tried to position himself as peacemaker and vowed to broker agreements in conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza.
Israeli troops Wednesday at the border with the Gaza Strip.
(Jack Guez / AFP / Getty Images)
Israel says it is allowing in enough aid and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. But those agencies say it is nearly impossible to safely deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, with crowds of thousands unloading food trucks as soon as they move into Gaza.
A separate Israeli- and U.S.-backed system run by an American contractor has also been marred by chaos.
“Of course, we want to see the end of devastation that is taking place in Gaza,” Pigott said. “That is why we have supported the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. That is why we’ve seen those 90 million meals being distributed.”
When pressed on whether and how the U.S. would proceed on seeking a truce in Gaza, Pigott did not offer clarity and told reporters that “this is a very dynamic situation.”
He said there’s never been a question of the U.S. commitment to reaching a ceasefire and faulted Hamas.
The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place.
Witkoff said the U.S. is “resolute” in seeking an end to the conflict in Gaza and it was “a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way.”
The White House and representatives for Hamas had no immediate comment.
Macron, in making his announcement Thursday recognizing Palestinian statehood, posted a letter he sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about his decision.
The French president offered support for Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and frequently speaks out against antisemitism. But he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel’s war in Gaza, especially in recent months.
France is the biggest and most powerful European country to recognize Palestine. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.
France has Europe’s largest Jewish population and the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, and fighting in the Middle East often spills over into protests or other tensions in France.
Israel also calls back its negotiators
Earlier Thursday, Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu’s office recalled his negotiating team in light of Hamas’ response. In a brief statement, Netanyahu’s office expressed appreciation for the efforts of Witkoff and other mediators Qatar and Egypt but gave no further details.
The deal under discussion was expected to include an initial 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up, and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting ceasefire.
The talks have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war. Hamas says it will only release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war. Israel says it will not agree to end the conflict until Hamas gives up power and disarms. The militant group says it is prepared to leave power but not surrender its weapons.
Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages in different locations, including tunnels, and says it has ordered its guards to kill them if Israeli forces approach.
Trump has been pushing for peace
Trump has made little secret of the fact he wants to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. For instance, he has promised to quickly negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but little progress has been made.
On the war in Gaza, Trump met with Netanyahu at the White House this month, putting his weight behind a push to reach a deal.
But despite a partnership further solidified by their countries’ joint strikes on Iran, the Israeli leader left Washington without any breakthrough.
The State Department had said earlier in the week that Witkoff would be traveling to the Middle East for talks, but U.S. officials later said that Witkoff would instead travel to Europe. It was unclear if he held meetings there Thursday.
Price and Krauss write for the Associated Press. Krauss reported from Ottawa, Canada. AP writers Josef Federman and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.
Trump aide says Washington ‘hopeful’ a 60-day truce between Israel and Hamas can be reached by the end of the week.
An aide to United President Donald Trump has suggested a Gaza ceasefire is close, saying Washington hopes to see an agreement finalised by the end of the week.
“We’re in proximity talks now, and we had four issues, and now we’re down to one after two days of proximity talks,” special US envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
“So we are hopeful that by the end of this week, we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire.”
Witkoff said the deal would see the release of 10 Israeli captives and the bodies of nine. He added that the Trump administration thinks the deal “will lead to a lasting peace in Gaza”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in Washington, DC, that while Israel “still has to finish the job in Gaza”, negotiators are “certainly working” on a ceasefire.
Trump and Netanyahu dined together on Monday at the White House during the Israeli leader’s third US visit since the president began his second term on January 20.
The two leaders are to meet again later on Tuesday.
“He’s coming over later. We’re going to be talking about, I would say, almost exclusively Gaza. We’ve got to get that solved,” the US president told reporters at a cabinet meeting in the White House on Tuesday.
“It’s a tragedy, and he wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to.”
Qatar confirmed on Tuesday that Hamas and Israeli delegations are in Doha to discuss the ceasefire proposal.
“There is a positive engagement right now. The mediation teams – the Qataris and the Egyptians – are working around the clock to make sure that there is some consensus built on the framework towards the talks,” Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 57,500 Palestinians, internally displaced nearly the entire population of the enclave and placed hundreds of thousands of people on the verge of starvation.
United Nations experts and rights group have described Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a genocide.
Netanyahu suggested on Monday that the US and Israel are working to ensure the mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza – an idea first proposed by Trump in February.
Israeli officials have been framing the push to remove all Palestinians from Gaza Gaza as an effort to encourage “voluntary migration” from the territory.
“If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave. It shouldn’t be a prison. It should be an open place and give people a free choice,” Netanyahu told reporters.
Rights advocates said the removal of Palestinians from Gaza, which would amount to ethnic cleansing, cannot be considered voluntary.
Prominent legal expert Ralph Wilde said that with the widespread destruction, siege and daily attacks in Gaza, the concept of free choice to stay there or leave “is a lie”.
“It’s forced displacement because that isn’t a choice that is made freely,” Wilde told Al Jazeera.
