From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Witkoff and Kushner won’t leave Egypt without a deal, US official vows
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will not leave talks in Egypt without a deal, a senior US official tells Channel 12 news.
“Bibi did excellent work,” says another senior US official. “The military pressure was critical in order to make Hamas more pragmatic. But now Bibi has to understand that the time has come for a deal.”
Hamas is trying to take advantage of Trump’s determination to reach a deal to talk about “day after” issues right now, including demilitarization and the end to the war. In response, the Israeli negotiating team is instructed to only make progress on details pertaining to the release of hostages, IDF withdrawal maps, and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to the report.
If the sides don’t reach a deal, the US could present a compromise “take it or leave it” deal, says Channel 12, despite the fact that Trump has presented his proposal as such already.
Trump is meeting former hostage and US citizen Edan Alexander in the Oval Office in the next two hours, reports Channel 12.
The Times of Israel Community.