President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East is set to return to the region to negotiate an extension on the first phase of the cease-fire deal — as the temporary truce nears a breaking point over Hamas’ barbaric displays during the hostage handoffs.
Israel is calling on Hamas to release the bodies of four remaining hostages in the current cease-fire deal before it will free 602 Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be let go over the weekend.
Steve Witkoff revealed that his impending trip to the Middle East is meant to negotiate an extension of phase one of the deal, which is set to end on Sunday.
It was the first time a member of the Trump administration publicly said its goal was extending phase one rather than moving on to phase two, which is meant to outline a permanent end of the war and Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for all remaining living hostages.
Negotiating an extension to phase one could allow the fragile peace in Gaza to continue without tackling some of the extremely thorny problems that await phase two negotiations.
Phase two includes determining who will rule Gaza — a huge sticking point, as Hamas appears to be fully back in control of the Palestinian enclave, and Israel and the US have said the terror group cannot remain in power under any circumstances.
“We have to get an extension of phase one, and so I’ll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that,” Witkoff told CNN.
However, the first phase of the cease-fire is increasingly strained. Israel said the final bodies of hostages from the phase one deal must be released without a Hamas parade — like the one put on for the release of the Bibas family last week — before it will hand over the Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has continued to halt negotiations for phase two of the deal following alleged violations from Hamas — including the terror group’s failure to immediately release the body of slain mother Shiri Bibas last week.
The error, which was corrected by Friday night, caused Israel to halt the release of 602 Palestinian prisoners who were scheduled to be freed on Saturday as part of the exchange.
Hamas has said Israel’s refusal to release the prisoners in exchange for Thursday and Saturday’s releases was a clear violation of the truce deal.
Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, said on Telegram that it will hold off further negotiations until Israel frees the 602 prisoners.
Witkoff said that while the US would like to see the cease-fire reach its second phase, which would include the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, Trump would defend Israel’s right to resume war with Hamas.
“[Edan’s] front and center,” Witkoff told CBS’s Face the Nation. “We’re going to be successful in getting Edan home.”
The Trump aide noted Israel’s major grievance in phase two of the negotiations revolves around the future of Gaza and who would be in charge.
Despite push from the previous administration and mediators, Israel has refused to allow the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to govern Gaza, leaving a regrouped Hamas as the de-facto leaders.
“I would say at this point, for sure, they can’t be any part of governance in Gaza,” said Witkoff of Hamas.
As to existing [at all], I’d leave that detail to [Netanyahu],” he added, leaving the door open for the premier to fulfill his war goal of eliminating Hamas.
Witkoff also defended Trump’s controversial plan to permanently remove more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza. Witkoff claimed it was “not an eviction plan” while declining to say when the refugees would be allowed to return.