Netanyahu and Trump held two meetings in Washington this week that placed great focus on the latest efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has pointed to the possibility of reaching a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week, as indirect talks continue to take place between Hamas and Israel in Qatar.
Witkoff told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that the negotiations have so far narrowed down the sticking points between Hamas and Israel from four to one, expressing optimism over achieving a deal.
“We’re in proximity talks now, and we had four issues, and now we’re down to one after two days of proximity talks. 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, as quoted by CNN, without elaborating on the points he mentioned.
An Israeli source privy to the matter told CNN that the outstanding issue was related to the withdrawal maps in the Gaza Strip.
The negotiations resumed in Doha on Sunday with the focus on the latest 60-day ceasefire proposal presented by the mediators Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. The White House had said on Monday that Witkoff will depart to Qatar later this week to join the talks without providing additional details on his trip.
American news outlets, CNN and Axios, have also reported that a Qatari delegation travelled to Washington on Tuesday where they met with senior Trump administration officials at the White House.
However, Qatar has not publicly commented on the reports.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, said on Tuesday that the Gulf state was engaging with Hamas and Israel over the “framework for the talks” over a Gaza ceasefire deal.
“What is happening right now is that both delegations are in Doha. We are speaking with them separately on the framework for the talks. So talks have not begun, as of yet, but we are talking to both sides over that framework,” Al-Ansari told a weekly press briefing at Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Hamas’s key demands throughout the negotiations have been a permanent end to Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, the complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the territory, and the unhindered aid distribution by the United Nations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected all three demands under his insistence of remaining in the Gaza Strip while maintaining Israel’s chokehold over the flow of aid.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu and Trump held two meetings in Washington this week that placed great focus on the latest efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire. Trump has appeared to push for a deal during his discussions with Netanyahu as the negotiations in Doha continued.
“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 get it solved,” Trump said on Tuesday.
“A lot of hate, long-term hate, but we think we’re going to have it solved pretty soon, hopefully with a real solution, a solution that’s going to be holding up,” he added.
Israel intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip despite the ongoing ceasefire efforts. Israel has killed at least 18 Palestinians in Gaza City since Wednesday morning, adding to more than 61,700 killed since October 7, 2023.
Gaza’s health sector has completely collapsed and has not been able to keep pace with the daily killings as thousands remain trapped under the rubble.
