Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, landed in Tel Aviv on a direct private flight from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to reports in Israeli media.
Witkoff is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials in Jerusalem to discuss the implementation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Witkoff has also requested to meet with the seven Israeli hostages who have been released by Hamas since the ceasefire went into effect on Jan. 19, reports said.
Following his arrival in Israel, the U.S. envoy first traveled to the Netzarim Corridor, which divides northern from southern Gaza, together with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
An Israeli official told the Axios and Kan News outlets that Witkoff and Demer reviewed the implementation of the truce deal and inspected Palestinian vehicles driving northward on the Netzarim Corridor.
השיירה של סטיב וויטקוף יצאה מעזה@shemeshmicha pic.twitter.com/s2cPV4fYx6
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) January 29, 2025
Witkoff traveled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to Axios, which cited a U.S. official. In Riyadh, WItkoff was said to have discussed advancing an agreement to normalize ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Witkoff on Sunday described the agreement he helped broker between Israel and Hamas as “the most worthy thing I could ever do in my life.”
Speaking alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the official opening of the Altneu Synagogue in New York, Witkoff said he would be visiting Israel to ensure that the deal was implemented “in a correct way.”
“Hopefully we’ll get to phase two as well, and we’ll get everybody out who is alive, back to their families, and bodies, because there are many families who are waiting for the bodies of their children. They can’t bury them,” he added. “So we’ve got to get those bodies out too, and that’s just as important.”
