The US administration is pressuring Tel Aviv to move toward a deal to end the war in Gaza, according to Hamas officials and to Israeli sources not linked to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, expressed a preference for a diplomatic resolution for the return of Israeli hostages, Netanyahu said there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza.
On Monday, Hamas released an Israeli-American soldier, Edan Alexander, who had been held hostage in Gaza for more than 19 months, offering a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration that could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel.
A day later, US special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler and Witkoff met families of Israeli hostages for almost two hours in Tel Aviv.
The Hostages Families Forum, which represents many families of those held in Gaza, said Witkoff told them that “everyone would prefer to see a diplomatic solution,” noting that most captivity survivors have been released through diplomatic means.
In the past few days, the Israeli government backed the so-called Witkoff plan that was proposed by the US envoy before Edan’s release, and which did not center on a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The plan was rejected by Hamas.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Maariv newspaper citing unnamed senior officials, said the US no longer considers Witkoff’s original proposal the key to a Gaza ceasefire agreement, and is now pushing forward with revised solutions.
Following their meeting with the families of Israeli hostages, Boehler and Witkoff headed to Doha, Qatar, where they will join Trump. Qatar has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas.
Yedioth Ahronoth said Boehler and Witkoff’s trip to Qatar aims to enter effective negotiations aimed at releasing the hostages and end the war in Gaza.
Maariv said that during a meeting with Netanyahu on Monday, Witkoff reportedly presented a new initiative aimed at creating a pathway toward ending the war.
Officials said this updated vision is based on the idea that a long-term, comprehensive deal could lead to a permanent ceasefire - one that might compel Hamas to show flexibility and accept terms.
In return, the Israeli PM said there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza.
In comments released by Netanyahu’s office Tuesday from a visit to wounded soldiers the previous day, the prime minister said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission. ... It means destroying Hamas.”
Any ceasefire deal reached would be temporary, the prime minister said. If Hamas were to say they would release more hostages, “we’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will be no way we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said.
“We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end,” he added.
