Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
US president-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy on Tuesday appeared to say a deal between Israel and Hamas over hostages held in Gaza was imminent, after reporting “a lot of progress” in negotiations.
Billionaire Steve Witkoff, who was named as Mr Trump's Middle East envoy in November, told reporters he was “really hopeful” that he and his team would “have some good things to announce” by Mr Trump's January 20 inauguration in Washington.
Israel and Hamas have been in talks in recent days over a possible hostage-detainee exchange amid continuing international deliberations to bring an end to the Gaza war.
About 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage during a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel's military believes 100 are still being held in Gaza. American citizens are among the hostages. About 45,000 people have died in Israel's onslaught against Gaza - the vast majority of them civilians.
“I think we're making a lot of progress, and I don't want to say too much, because I think they're doing a really good job back in Doha,” Mr Witkoff said about his recent talks in the region.
He said he will be travelling back to Doha within the next day. He has been to the region several times since he was appointed.
“We'll save some lives … I believe we've been on the verge of it,” Mr Witkoff said. “I think it's the president, his stature, what he said he expects, the red lines he's put out there that's driving this negotiation.”
Almost 45,900 people in Gaza have been killed amid Israeli military operations and a worsening humanitarian crisis that has pushed parts of the enclave to the brink of famine, local health authorities say.
Mr Trump told reporters that if the hostages were not released in the next two weeks before he enters the White House, “all hell will break out in the Middle East”.
“It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone.”
