From the Liveblog of
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Witkoff said to tell hostage families Israel is pointlessly extending Gaza war, US is urging a deal
US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff recently told families of Gaza hostages that he disagrees with Israel’s approach to the war in Gaza, and believes reaching a new ceasefire and hostage release deal is the correct next step to take, Channel 12 reports.
According to the report, Witkoff told the families that the US “wants to return the hostages, but Israel is not ready to end the war.”
“Israel is prolonging the war, even though we do not see where further progress can be made,” said Witkoff, the report adds, citing sources who attended the meeting.
“Still, there is currently a window of opportunity that we hope Israel and all the mediators will take advantage of. We are putting pressure on all the mediators and doing everything to return the hostages,” he reportedly said.
Channel 12 cites the families saying they’ve not heard this kind of criticism from Witkoff of Israeli government policy in the past.
The TV report also quotes unnamed senior Israeli officials warning: “If there are no agreements by the end of [President Donald] Trump’s visit to the Middle East, Israel will launch a ground operation and it will take several weeks until the next ‘exit point’. We won’t agree to quickly halt, once we have begun the intensified operation. Hamas will not determine the timeline.”
Echoing Witkoff’s reported remarks, however, the officials agree that there is currently “a window of opportunity,” and state that the mediators have an obligation to make this clear to Hamas, according to Channel 12.
The report says Israel is open to various proposals — including what it says Israel is calling a “Witkoff proposal-minus” — but that if Hamas continues its refusal to agree to a deal there is “no alternative” to an intensified operation that will not end quickly. The Witkoff proposal provides for the release of some half of the living hostages in return for an extended truce.
It says Witkoff is holding conversations with various key players right now, trying to establish some kind of framework for a deal this week.
Walla news reports that Witkoff is currently holding talks with Hamas, Qatar, Egypt and Israel on a hostage deal and longer-term calm.
The Times of Israel Community.