Trump’s envoy says phase two of truce deal will ‘absolutely begin’
More from Steve Witkoff’s comments on the Israel-Hamas deal.
The US president’s envoy told Fox News that “phase two is a little bit more complicated than phase one, but phase two is absolutely going to begin”.
He also told Israel’s Channel 12 later in the day that Trump “wants to see the second phase of it results in hostages being released and lives being saved, and it can lead to peace”.
Witkoff added that he spoke “to the Israelis, the Qataris, and the Egyptians this morning about setting forth a schedule pursuant to which we would – in a very substantive way – begin second-phase talks. Everybody is receptive to that, so hopefully, that’s what’s going to be happening this week”.
The comments came amid increased anxiety in Gaza over the sustainability of the ceasefire due to the continued Israeli violations, including deadly attacks and obstruction of aid, as well as calls from far-right Israeli politicians to scrap the truce.
Trump, meanwhile, has offered his full backing to Netanyahu, who, according to Israeli media reports, wants to prolong phase one of the truce deal instead of advancing to phase two.
Key quotes from Netanyahu’s news conference with Rubio
- “President Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.”
- “President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us. We have a common strategy, and we can’t always share the details of this strategy with the public, including when the gates of hell would be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them.”
- “We will eliminate Hamas’s military capability and its political rule in Gaza. We will bring all our hostages home, and we will ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”
- “The unequivocal support of the United States on Gaza will help us achieve these objectives faster and set us on a path for a different future.”
- “Israel and America stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering the threat of Iran. We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons, and we also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back.”
Key quotes from Rubio’s comments in Israel
- “The president has been very clear: Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force,” Rubio said during a news conference with Netanyahu, stating that Hamas “must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.”
- The US secretary of state also praised Trump’s “very bold” and “unambiguous view of what the future for Gaza should be”, even if the president’s proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza “may have shocked and surprised many”.
- Rubio also spoke about Lebanon, the West Bank, Syria and Iraq, saying that “the common theme in all of these challenges is Iran. It is the single greatest source of instability in the region.”
- “There can never be a nuclear Iran – a nuclear Iran that could then hold itself immune from pressure and from action. That can never happen.”
- Rubio also a statement saying that Hamas’s decision to “hold hostages and even dead bodies reflects their sick depravity. I call on our partners to help impress upon Hamas’s leaders that they are playing with fire.”
Where to next for Rubio?
The US’s top diplomat is expected to depart Israel for Saudi Arabia today.
Rubio’s visit to Riyadh comes after Saudi Arabia publicly rejected Trump’s proposal to “take over” the Gaza Strip by reiterating that it will not sign a normalisation deal with Israel until Palestinians receive an independent state.
After Riyadh, Rubio is expected to travel to the United Arab Emirates on the final leg of his Middle East tour.
It is worth mentioning that Rubio, who is in the region for the first time since taking office, broke with tradition during his visit to Israel by skipping a meeting with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. He also did not visit some of the top US allies in the region, Egypt and Jordan, on this tour.
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