When asked if there was a plan for the next day in Gaza, Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News: “Yes, we have an expanded meeting at the White House tomorrow that will be led by the president, and there is a very comprehensive plan that we are developing regarding the next day that will reflect President Trump’s humanitarian motivations.”
He continued, "There are long meetings this week regarding the conflicts in Gaza, Iran, and the dispute between Russia and Ukraine, and we will hold a meeting with the Ukrainians in New York this week," expressing his hope that these issues will be resolved before the end of this year.
Asked who was most obstructing an end to the war in Gaza, Witkoff said, "Hamas is doing it. There was a deal on the table for the past six or seven weeks , and Hamas stalled and now announced its acceptance of Israel's intense pressure."
When asked if he believed Hamas should be eliminated, he said, "That's not my decision. I think an agreement must be reached."
The US envoy noted that "Hamas realizes it cannot have any role in the future government, and this is a condition of Israel and President Trump as well."
He added, "The hostages must be released, and a similar number of Palestinian prisoners will also be released." He continued, "Hamas is now signaling that it is open to a settlement, and Israel has also announced its openness to continuing discussions with Hamas."
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In response to a question about the killing of journalists in Gaza, the US envoy said, "The killing of any civilian is a tragedy."
In a related development, US President Donald Trump backtracked on previous statements he made that a decisive outcome regarding the Gaza Strip was imminent. During a cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, he said, "Nothing is decisive. This has been going on for a long time." He added that nothing definitive could be expected regarding the possibility of a definitive outcome in Gaza within a few weeks.
He explained that this matter has been ongoing for a long time without any decisive outcome, and "I hope that the issues in Gaza, which are between Russia and Ukraine, will be resolved soon."
On Monday, Trump indicated that the situation in Gaza is very bad, saying, "I think we will reach a good and decisive outcome in the next two or three weeks."
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide in Gaza left 62,819 Palestinians dead, 158,629 wounded, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that killed 303 Palestinians, including 117 children, as of Tuesday.
