JERUSALEM/CAIRO:
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in a bid to salvage Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor has warned that famine is unfolding.
Shortly after Witkoff’s arrival, President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social network: “The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!”
The US State Department also announced sanctions on officials of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, saying the groups were undermining peace efforts.
It was Washington’s latest apparent diplomatic shift backing Israel against the Palestinians and diverging from its European allies.
The PA and PLO, rivals of the Hamas fighters that control Gaza, are internationally accepted as the representatives of the Palestinian people and administrators of a Palestinian state that France, Britain and Canada have said in recent days they could soon recognise as independent.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The full impact of the US move was not immediately clear: the State Department said targeted individuals would be barred from travelling to the United States but did not identify those targeted.
Witkoff arrived in Israel with Netanyahu’s government facing mounting international pressure over the widespread destruction of Gaza and constraints on aid in the territory. He will travel to Gaza on Friday to inspect food aid delivery as he works on a final plan to speed deliveries to the enclave, the White House said.
“The Special Envoy and the ambassador will brief the President immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha ended in deadlock last week with the sides trading blame for the impasse and gaps lingering over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal
