US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a US sovereign wealth fund, in the Oval Office of the White House. AFP
According to a statement from his office, Netanyahu informed Witkoff about the meeting, which added that “he will convene the security cabinet meeting tomorrow to discuss the second phase of the agreement.”
In earlier comments to Fox News, Witkoff described Sunday's calls with Netanyahu, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egypt’s intelligence chief as “very productive and constructive.”
He said the discussions focused on “the sequencing of phase two, setting forth positions on both sides so we can understand where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of phase two successfully.”
Earlier on Sunday, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks said negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha.
Hamas and Israel are currently implementing the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which nearly collapsed last week.
US President Donald Trump warned that “all hell” would break loose if every Israeli captive was not released from Gaza by noon on Saturday.
An Israeli campaign group, Hostages and Missing Families Forum, cautioned against the deal’s potential “collapse.”
“At any moment, the fighting could resume. We hope that the calm will continue and that Egypt will pressure Israel to prevent them from restarting the war and displacing people,” Nasser al-Astal, a retired teacher in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, told AFP.
Earlier Sunday, Israel’s defence ministry said it had received a shipment of US-made 2,000-pound bombs “released by the Trump administration.” The Biden administration had previously blocked the delivery over concerns they would be used in heavily populated areas of Gaza.
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