US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Wednesday for talks that will focus on implementing the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as negotiations for the next phase of the agreement.
Before the visit, Mr. Witkoff underlined the need for the full implementation of the agreement, which ended 15 months of fighting and led to the release, so far, of seven hostages held by Hamas and 300 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Further releases of hostages and prisoners are expected in the coming days.
Mr. Witkoff's visit comes ahead of a planned visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. US President Donald Trump invited Netanyahu for talks on February 4.
The first phase of the ceasefire is expected to last 42 days, a quarter of which has already passed. It envisages the release of 33 hostages from Gaza and the continuation of negotiations on the details of the second phase of the agreement, which includes the release of other hostages and an end to the war with the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
These negotiations are expected to begin next week.
Palestinians in Gaza have been allowed to return to some areas long blocked by Israeli forces, including the northern Gaza Strip, where the United Nations said on Tuesday that more than 375,000 people had returned this week.
About 1 million Gazans fled the area at the start of the war, and the displaced are now returning to an area devastated by Israeli military operations against Hamas.
Under the ceasefire agreement, the United Nations will also facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The UN humanitarian office announced on Tuesday that the amount of aid being sent to Gaza has been “significantly expanded,” including into areas where aid workers had previously been unable to reach.
"Field assessments indicate a high level of destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, especially in the northern part of Gaza, indicating a critical need to increase efforts to rehabilitate and clean them to meet basic human needs," the agency said.
The reconstruction of Gaza is part of the final phase of the ceasefire agreement, while it remains unclear who will govern the territory, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007.
During a phone call Tuesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio underlined the need to work together "on post-conflict planning to ensure that Hamas never again governs Gaza, or is able to threaten Israel again," the US State Department said in a statement.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar were the main mediators in the negotiations of recent months that secured the ceasefire agreement.
In recent days, President Trump's repeated suggestions to forcibly remove large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza and send them to Egypt and Jordan have been criticized.
Palestinians and Arab states, including Egypt and Jordan, opposed Mr. Trump's idea to admit Palestinians, amid concerns that their displacement would become permanent.
The Gaza War began on October 7, 2023, following Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
Israel's counteroffensive in Gaza has killed at least 47,300 people, most of them women and children, according to health officials. The Israeli military says that figure includes 17,000 militants killed./ VOA (A2 Televizion)
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