Witkoff States Gaza Ceasefire Deal Possible by Week’s End, as Trump Meets Netanyahu

Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations Progress

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s foreign envoy, stated on Tuesday that negotiators are making progress toward a Gaza ceasefire deal, with the possibility of reaching an agreement by the end of the week.

Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza. This was their second meeting in two days, reflecting ongoing efforts to address the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"He’s going to come over again tonight. We’re talking about Gaza, mostly Gaza right now," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting. "We’re going to be talking about, I would say, almost exclusively, Gaza. We got to get that solved."

Witkoff is expected to travel to Qatar later in the week to participate in ceasefire talks that began on Sunday. He reported that negotiators have addressed several key issues, with only one remaining. As part of the proposed deal, up to 10 living hostages and nine deceased hostages may be released. A Qatari delegation also met with senior administration officials at the White House on Tuesday.

"We’re in proximity talks now, and we had four issues, and now we’re down to one after two days of proximity talks. So, we are hopeful that by the end of this week, we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day Cease fire," Witkoff said.

Current Situation in Gaza

The offensive in Gaza continues, with the health ministry reporting that hundreds of people have been killed in Israeli strikes over the past 12 days.

An Israeli source indicated that the remaining issue in negotiations concerns withdrawal maps for the Israeli military once a ceasefire is implemented. The latest proposal suggests that the Israel Defense Forces would withdraw from parts of northern Gaza on the first day of a ceasefire and from parts of southern Gaza on the seventh day. The specific maps are to be negotiated between Israel and Hamas. Israel has stated its intention to maintain security control over Gaza in any post-conflict arrangement, while Hamas seeks a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel also aims to maintain a presence on the Philadelphi Corridor, which borders Egypt and Gaza, to control access to the area.

Recent Meetings and Statements

Trump and Netanyahu had dinner at the White House on Monday. On Tuesday, Netanyahu met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

"We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas military and governance capabilities, because Gaza must have a different future for our sake, for everyone’s sake, and no country will settle for less. We certainly will not," Netanyahu said after meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson. He added, "These are all things that I discussed with President Trump."

Hamas has outlined three main demands: a permanent end to the fighting, humanitarian assistance to be provided by the United Nations, and for Israel to return to the positions it held on March 2, prior to its renewed offensive in northern Gaza.

A senior Hamas official stated in late May that the group is "ready to return the hostages in one day – just we want a guarantee that war will not come again after that." In response to a previous Trump administration-backed ceasefire proposal in May, Hamas requested assurances from the United States that negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would continue and that fighting would not resume after the proposed 60-day pause.

Last week, Hamas indicated a positive response to the latest proposal from Qatar. Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American official involved in the negotiations, said Hamas requested minor adjustments to the proposal. Israel described these adjustments as "unacceptable" but still sent a delegation to Doha for further negotiations.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu stated, "We think that we’ve gotten closer to it, and I hope we can cross the line. That is our purpose. But I think I speak about it publicly, the more likely that we might get it."

A lasting resolution is contingent on Netanyahu’s willingness to end the conflict.

"It’s a tragedy and he wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to get it solved," Trump said Tuesday. "A lot of hate, long term hate, but we think we’re going to have it solved pretty soon, hopefully with a real solution, a solution that’s going to be holding up."

This story has been updated with additional details.