White House special envoy Steve Witkoff waits for the arrival of President Donald Trump at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J., en route to attend the Club World Cup final soccer match, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
JMWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, planned to head to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the State Department's spokesperson said Tuesday.
Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Witkoff was going to the region with a “strong hope” that the U.S. can as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.
“I would suggest that we might have some good news, but, again, as we know, this could be a constantly changing dynamic,” said Bruce, who didn’t have other details about where Witkoff would be going or what he had planned.
Three U.S. officials said Witkoff is traveling to Europe this week to discuss a range of issues, including Gaza and the push for a ceasefire, but they had no details about Middle East stops and did not share where specifically Witkoff would travel to and when.
The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The State Department press office didn’t respond to messages seeking more details on Witkoff’s travel, and it wasn’t immediately clear what his schedule would be this week.
A breakthrough in talks on a ceasefire deal has eluded the Trump administration for months as . The territory had its in over 21 months of war, with at least 85 Palestinians killed while trying to reach food Sunday.
The Israeli army has said it fired warning shots, but says the reported death toll was greatly inflated. The United Nations’ food agency accused Israeli forces of firing on the crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid.
Bruce said the incident that took place while civilians were trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel is “absolutely horrible" and reinforced why the U.S. is pushing for a new humanitarian corridor to be created as part of any truce.
The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place.
The , during which Hamas would release some hostages while Israel would free Palestinian prisoners and allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. During the 60 days, the sides are also to begin negotiations on a permanent end to the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas yields power and is disarmed, while Hamas says it will not release all of the hostages until the war is over. It is seeking assurances that Netanyahu will not resume the war after the 60 days, as he did in March after an .
Hamas is holding 50 hostages — 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
___
Amiri reported from New York.
The ɫtv Press. All rights reserved.
For many Indigenous communities, access to financial services and economic opportu…
Trust in international money transfers has long been tied to physical places: a ba…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Tax: | |
| Today's total: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
