US President Donald Trump will chair a “large meeting” at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the “comprehensive plan” that the administration is putting together for the post-war management of Gaza, his special envoy Steve Witkoff announced.
Tuesday’s remarks appeared to be the first time that Witkoff has revealed the existence of a US plan for the so-called day after, as Washington has largely deferred on the issue to its Arab allies in the region since Trump’s remarks in February on his vision to take over Gaza and permanently relocate its residents. While Israel welcomed the idea, it was roundly rejected by US partners in the region who Trump hoped would be willing to take in Palestinian refugees.
“Many people are going to see how robust it is and how well meaning it is, and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives,” Witkoff said in a Fox News interview, without elaborating further.
Last month, Trump made headlines when he said he’d be unveiling a new aid plan for the Gaza Strip. The White House said the plan would be announced shortly thereafter but never ended up following through. Ultimately, the State Department indicated that the administration would suffice with increasing the number of distribution sites being operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation from three to 16. That expansion has yet to take place however and the US has only transferred half of the $30 million pledged for the project, which will likely cost much more.
Witkoff also said Tuesday that the Trump administration’s official position is to oppose additional partial Gaza hostage deals, lining up behind Israel which has avoided responding to a proposal accepted by Hamas for a phased release of the 50 remaining captives, 20 of whom are believed to be alive while there are grave concerns for the wellbeing of two others.
Trump himself indicated that this was his administration’s stance when he posted on Truth Social hours after Hamas accepted the Arab mediators’ latest proposal on August 18 that the remaining hostages would only be freed after the terror group has been completely destroyed.
However, the White House said the next day that it was still reviewing the latest phased hostage deal proposal, which is nearly identical to the one that Witkoff crafted several months ago.
Despite Hamas’s acceptance of that proposal, Witkoff said that Hamas was fully responsible for the lack of a deal to date, reiterating that the terrorist organization ”slow played that process” last month when it added new conditions, which led the US and Israel to recall their negotiating teams.
While Israel has since declared that it was no longer interested in phased deals, the Arab mediators worked to bring Hamas down from its new demands by accepting their latest proposal, hoping that Jerusalem would reconsider.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held his ground, while advancing plans for the Israel Defense Forces to take over Gaza City, an operation that he argues will dismantle Hamas’s last remaining stronghold in the Strip. His critics argue that he characterized Israel’s 2024 conquering of Rafah in the same manner and that a new operation will only further entrench the Hamas insurgency, while hostage families fear the Gaza City offensive will put their loved ones at risk.
“It is Hamas now who’s saying we accept that deal, and I think in large part they’re saying that and changing their mind because the Israelis are putting some very intense pressure on them,” Witkoff told Fox, without saying whether Israel should do the same.
The US network’s Brett Baier noted that Israeli officials have said they no longer accept a partial deal, and he asked if the US feels the same way.
“That’s the official position, and that’s President Trump’s official position. I think that he has said to himself, ‘You don’t need to keep those hostages,’” Witkoff said.
Hamas has refused to release the remaining hostages unless Israel agrees to end the war sparked by its October 2023 attack and withdraw from Gaza, demands that Netanyahu has refused, arguing that doing so would leave Hamas in power.
“We’ll have a negotiation if they want as to what the next day it looks like in Gaza after this is all done and what the definition of Hamas is… but we adamantly want… all of those hostages home,” Witkoff said.
Asked whether he agreed with Netanyahu that Hamas should be “completely destroyed,” Witkoff responded, “That’s not my call.”
“I think that there needs to be a deal. There needs to be hostages sent home. There would be a commensurate amount of Palestinian prisoners who would be sent home too. Every time we see a hostage release, we see jubilation on both sides,” the US envoy said.
“Hamas understands that they can have nothing to do with the government going forward,” he continued, apparently referring to the terror group’s willingness to cede control of Gaza to an independent committee of Palestinian technocrats. However, Hamas rejected calls to disarm, one of Israel’s conditions for ending the war, along with the release of all remaining hostages in one batch and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip — a process that the IDF says could take years to complete.
Pressed on whether Israel should be doing anything differently and on why he is optimistic about bringing about an end to the war, Witkoff said, “We think we’re going to settle this one way or another, certainly before the end of this year.”
The IDF has reportedly told the security cabinet that the takeover of Gaza City alone will last four to five months, and Netanyahu has indicated that he plans to follow up the operation with another one to conquer the refugee camps in central Gaza.
Nonetheless, Witkoff pointed out that “Hamas is now signaling that they’re open to a settlement,” apparently referring to its acceptance of the Arab mediators’ phased hostage release proposal that the US and Israel are no longer interested in.
“The Israelis when they announced this operation [to take over Gaza City] also announced at the same time that they were funding $600 million of aid to go into Gaza,” he said.
There was no Israeli announcement regarding $600 million in aid for Gaza. The cabinet did vote last week, nine days after approving the Gaza City operation to allocate $473 million for humanitarian aid in the Strip. It’s unclear what exactly it will be used for, though, as the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it doesn’t take any direct funds from Israel.
Witkoff added that Israel “also announced that they were open to continuing discussions with Hamas,” an apparent reference to a statement issued by Netanyahu last week that he had ordered immediate talks to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
His office later clarified that no such talks have been set but that when they are, Netanyahu will dispatch a negotiating team. But the Arab mediators have maintained that they’re still waiting for Israel to respond to the phased deal accepted by Hamas and that no other option is on the table.
Nonetheless, Witkoff insisted that Israel is not adopting a “maximalist approach”
He noted that the US has also “suggested” that Hamas “begin by feeding the hostages, by giving them medical attention, by letting the Red Cross in.”
Witkoff was asked by Fox whether the US is setting any red lines for Israel after Monday’s deadly strike on Khan Younis’s Nasser hospital that reportedly killed at least 20 people, including medical and rescue staff along with five journalists. The IDF has identified six of those killed as terror operatives, while expressing regret for civilian casualties and accusing Hamas of “cynically” exploiting medical facilities for medical purposes.
“Anytime you have civilian deaths, it’s a tragedy,” he responded, before pivoting to highlight that Trump has met with almost every single Israeli hostage family.
“It’s a war, and part of what we’re trying to do is shut that war down… Hamas has held that region hostage for much too long, and it’s time for it to end. Many of the Arab governments are in that camp as well,” he said.
As for whether Israel should allow journalists to freely report from inside Gaza, Witkoff noted that he’s been into the Strip twice, including earlier this month when he donned “a ceramic vest on and wearing my black ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.”
“People were cheering when they saw it — not me, but for the president. He’s very well acknowledged there, not just in Gaza, but in Israel,” Witkoff claimed, while avoiding a direct answer to the question.
“It is a very dangerous place. There are over 30,000 unexploded munitions all over the place,” he said, using the same figure he used after visiting the Strip for the first time in January. “It is a demolition zone, and it’s a tough place,” he reiterated.
Earlier Tuesday, Witkoff said that in addition to the Gaza conflict, he hoped to settle the Russia-Ukraine war and Iran nuclear talks by the end of the year.
“Russia-Ukraine, Iran, Israel-Hamas — we’re having meetings all this week on all three of those conflicts, and we hope to settle them before the end of this year,” Witkoff told Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House.
Witkoff did not specify the nature of the meeting he referenced regarding the Gaza war, though Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is visiting this week Washington, with the State Department announcing he would meet on Wednesday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who also serves as White House National Security Adviser.
Trump had said Monday that he thinks the Gaza war will reach a “conclusive end” within two to three weeks, though he didn’t explain his rationale for that time frame, which he’s also cited in other contexts.
Witkoff said he wishes the Nobel Committee would “get its act together” and award Trump the Nobel Peace Prize, garnering applause from the other cabinet members in the room.
He also said, “we are negotiating multiple entries” of countries into the Abraham Accords.
Witkoff did not specify which countries he was referring to, but he has been predicting such an expansion since at least May. The effort, however, appears to be hampered by the extension of the Gaza war.
In the meantime, the US is reportedly working to coax Azerbaijan, which already has ties with Israel, to enter the Abraham Accords. That push is an indication that the Trump administration is sufficing with more modest gains on the issue, as many of the potential candidates are demanding progress toward a two-state solution with the Palestinians, which Israel rejects.
Witkoff’s remarks were part of an over three hour public portion of the cabinet meeting during which members went around the table one after the other updating Trump’s on their efforts, while primarily taking the time to praise the president.