White House official confirms Witkoff entered Gaza, met top PA official

A White House official confirms to The Times of Israel that US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff entered Gaza earlier today before meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

The White House official also confirms that yesterday, in Saudi Arabia, Witkoff met with Hussein Al-Sheikh, a top aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Earlier today, Sheikh published a seemingly cryptic post on X saying, “The statements circulating and its contents in the media regarding a meeting between a Palestinian delegation and US President Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, are inaccurate.”

“We hold Envoy Witkoff in high regard and appreciate his efforts. We look forward to working with him and the Trump administration to advance the cause of peace,” he added.

It is unclear what reports he was referring to, as the only relevant one published over the past day was an Axios story revealing that a meeting had taken place between himself and Witkoff in Riyadh.

It is unclear whether Sheikh was seeking to deny that a meeting had taken place, and he did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

It was the first meeting between Witkoff and a senior PA official, and indicates the Trump administration’s recognition that its efforts to advance a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia will have to include a Palestinian component.