President-elect Donald Trump's new Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, recently visited Qatar and Israel to relaunch efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement on the release of hostages from Hamas, two Israeli media outlets, Haaretz and Times of Israel, reported on Thursday, citing sources close to the negotiators.
This effort is being carried out before Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2025, according to Times of Israel, which reports a resumption of meetings that reveal a revival of the Qatari role in the Gaza talks.
At the end of November, Steve Witkoff reportedly met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Doha had been working alongside the United States and Egypt for months in indirect talks aimed at achieving a lasting ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But these talks failed.
According to the Israeli media, Hamas negotiators are likely to return to Qatar, to facilitate a new round of negotiations.
“A new round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas is expected to take place in Doha in the near future, but no specific date has been set,” said an Israeli source quoted by the daily.
Qatar was one of the main mediators in the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. Last November, it announced that it was suspending its role until both parties showed “willingness and seriousness”.
On Tuesday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry stated that this position remained unchanged until further notice, while last week US President Joe Biden announced that Qatar, Egypt and Turkey would launch a new initiative to reach an agreement on the hostages.
Sheikh Al Thani confirmed to Sky News on Wednesday that a Trump official had told him that the new president wanted to conclude a deal before January 20, when he will be taking office.
“We heard from his team (...) that they wanted this (hostage) deal done now - today,” he said.
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