Witkoff said to present new plan to free all the hostages, end the war, remove Hamas from power

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has laid out a new plan during hostage negotiations in Doha for a deal to release all or almost all of the hostages in Gaza, end the war, and remove Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip, according to a Channel 12 news report.

While mediators have expressed support for the plan, and Hamas has “sent positive signals,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting on a limited deal that does not require Israel to end its military campaign in Gaza, says the report.

It notes that Witkoff and Netanyahu spoke by phone earlier today.

“The Americans have an attitude of ‘take it or leave it,’ or we’re gone. They are determined that whoever doesn’t go with them will lose a lot,” a senior Israeli official aware of the discussions told Channel 12.

In recordings aired this evening by the network, Witkoff is heard telling the hostages’ families yesterday in Tel Aviv that, “Statistically, many more hostages than not have come out through diplomatic means, that’s what’s really worked. The Israeli military has had success, they have, but more often than not, dialogue and diplomacy have really worked here.”

Meanwhile, unnamed ministers in the Israeli security cabinet told Channel 12 today that “this cabinet approved [Israel’s planned expanded Gaza ground invasion] in the case that Hamas does not agree to release additional hostages in the [original] Witkoff framework. The prime minister will be judged by us based on how firmly he stands up to the pressure from Trump.”

The original Witkoff framework would see a temporary ceasefire of some 40 days, in exchange for about half of the remaining living hostages.