US envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner heading to Egypt as Gaza ceasefire talks continue

US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner plan to head to Egypt on Tuesday and arrive there on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter, reported indirectly. Peace talks between Israel and Hamas He continues.

White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said Monday that Witkopf and Kushner were willing to participate in the talks, which focus on a plan proposed by Mr. Trump last week aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

Indirect talks, with Egypt and Qatar as mediators between Israel and Hamas, resumed on Tuesday for a second day in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh. They were held nearby Israel put in two years Since the Hamas attack that sparked the war.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdati told reporters that members of the US delegation will join the talks on Wednesday.

Senior officials from the United States, Qatar, and Turkey continued to arrive in Sharm El Sheikh to join the negotiations.

The official said Hamas demanded guarantees that Israel would not return to war after the release of the remaining 48 hostages who were transferred on October 7, 2023. Israel believes 20 of them are still alive. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive, closed-door negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will end only when all remaining hostages are returned and Hamas – considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel – has been disarmed. He has accepted Mr. Trump’s plan, which calls for Gaza to be placed under international governance and for Hamas to be disarmed — its leaders are yet to demand.

The plan received widespread international support. Mr. Trump told reporters on Monday that he thought there was a “really good chance” of a permanent deal.

“This is beyond Gaza,” he said. “Gaza is a big deal, but this is really peace in the Middle East.”

The plan envisions Israel withdrawing its forces from Gaza after Hamas is disarmed, and an international security force being put in its place. The territory will be placed under international governance, overseen by Mr Trump and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Hamas reiterated its longstanding demands for a ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza but said nothing about disarmament.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when terrorists led by Hamas stormed southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251. Most have since been released in ceasefires or other deals.

The ensuing war killed at least 67,160 Palestinians and left nearly 170,000 injured, according to the Hamas Gaza Ministry of Health. The ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, says that more than half of the deaths were women and children.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the hostilities had created “a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale that defies comprehension.” “Mr. Trump’s proposal presents an opportunity that must be seized to end this tragic conflict,” he said in a statement.

Part of the plan is to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, where more than two million Palestinians face hunger and, in some areas, starvation.

Majid Anyari, spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said Monday’s talks lasted for four hours. he He said on Tuesday Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Thani, who is also the country’s foreign minister, will join the negotiations on Wednesday.

Israel’s delegation included Gal Hirsch, hostage and missing persons coordinator from Netanyahu’s office. Among the Hamas representatives was senior negotiator Khalil Al-Haya.

Camilla Chic

He contributed to this report.