Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Saturday afternoon with President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, in what was described as a “surprise visit” to discuss the multilateral negotiations with Hamas for the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Witkoff arrived in Israel after talks in Doha with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Channel 12 cited a “senior Israeli” saying that Trump has been personally involved in the matter over the last couple of days, expressing his desire to urgently cement a deal before he enters office on Jan. 20.
Netanyahu on Saturday evening held a situation assessment discussion on the issue of prisoners and missing persons with Defense Minister Israel Katz, the heads of the security establishment, and the negotiators from the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations, the Prime Minister’s Bureau said.
At the end of the discussion, the prime minister directed Mossad Director David Barnea; Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar; Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the head of the Missing and Captive Soldiers Section in the Military Intelligence Directorate; and the prime minister’s political adviser Ophir Falk to go to Doha to continue advancing a deal for the release of the abductees in the Gaza Strip, the statement continued.
According to Ynet, “additional progress” has been made in the negotiations but disagreements remain.
The report mentioned the transition from stage one of the proposed truce—a “humanitarian” phase of releasing hostages—to stage two as the main hurdle. The sides are arguing about legal wordings and each is insisting on keeping a degree of “freedom of action,” Ynet reported.
Qatari-owned, London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted a senior Hamas official as saying, “The final vision of the agreement is finished. There are arrangements between the mediators regarding the announcement of the agreement. We are all waiting for the envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to arrive in Doha and render his approval for the latest amendments.”
However, various Arab- and Hebrew-language reports gave conflicting reports on whether Hamas agreed to hand over a list of live hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
CIA Director William J. Burns spoke to NPR on Friday and was asked about the negotiations.
“I’ve learned the hard way not to get my hopes up. [But] I do think there remains a chance to get a deal,” he said.
He went on to say that an agreement is “about human beings. It’s about hostages held in hellish conditions. It’s about their families with whom I meet regularly. And it’s about Gazan civilians who are also in hellish conditions right now and suffering terribly, especially through this winter.”
Burns added that “there’s every reason for political leaders to recognize that enough is enough. That perfect is rarely on the menu in the Middle East and that it’s time to make a deal. And I do think the negotiations that are going on right now are quite serious and do offer the possibility, at least, of getting this done in the next couple of weeks.”
During a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, Witkoff, a Jewish businessman and longtime friend of the president-elect, expressed optimism about the ongoing discussions.
“I believe they’re doing an excellent job in Doha,” Witkoff said. “I’m hopeful that by the [Jan. 20] inauguration, we’ll have positive news to share on behalf of the president. It’s really the president’s vision, his reputation, and his words that are driving these negotiations. So, hopefully, everything will come together, and lives will be saved.”
When asked whether a deal could be reached before his inauguration, Trump said, “There better be.” He reiterated his stark warning about the fallout for Hamas if the hostages are not released.
