US envoys head to Mideast to finalise Gaza truce plan

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (R) and Jared Kushner await the arrival of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, on July 13, 2025. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Witkoff, a senior US envoy, are heading to Egypt to finalize hostage release details. AFP

Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and senior Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff were heading to Egypt to finalise hostage release details, official sources said Saturday.

A White House official confirmed Kushner and Witkoff are traveling to the region to address the finalization of details on the release of hostages and to discuss the deal pushed by the US president to bring an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The Palestinian resistance group on Friday reacted positively to a plan that would end two years of war, saying it was ready to release all hostages and discuss details on the deal.

Trump in turn called on Israel to “immediately” halt its bombings of the war-ravaged territory, although Washington’s chief ally in the region said Saturday its troops were still operating in Gaza.

Trump’s proposal calls for a halt to hostilities, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas’s disarmament.

In an interview Saturday with Axios, Trump — highlighting his behind-the-scenes diplomacy including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — said a peace deal in Gaza was “close” and that he will push to have it finalized in coming days.

Trump also said his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “very helpful” in urging Hamas to agree to the release of hostages.
“Erdogan helped a lot. He is a tough guy, but he is a friend of mine and he was great,” Trump said.

Netanyahu said in Jerusalem that he had instructed negotiators to travel to Egypt for talks over a Gaza deal.

“I have instructed the negotiating team to go to Egypt to finalise the technical details. The intention is to limit the negotiations to a few days,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement, without specifying when the talks would take place.