Trumps Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff looks to extend Gaza cease-fire deal as truce hangs by a thread
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 immed...