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President Trump will meet with Israeli officials Wednesday at the White House to discuss postwar plans for the Gaza Strip, as negotiations with Hamas on securing a ceasefire have stalled and Israel pushes forward with an expanded military operation.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, said on Fox News Tuesday night that Trump will chair a “large meeting” to discuss a “comprehensive” plan for a day-after scenario in Gaza.
“We’ve got a large meeting in the White House tomorrow, chaired by the president, and it’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together on the next day that I think many people are going to be, they’re going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is,” Witkoff said.
“And it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives here.”
A White House official confirmed the meeting on Wednesday. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is also scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department Wednesday afternoon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a civilian authority to run Gaza but opposes any affiliation with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank. Netanyahu has said Israel must maintain security control.
Trump has floated the U.S. taking ownership of Gaza and transforming it into a beach resort. But those glitzy plans have been criticized for potentially displacing Palestinians permanently.
The president has said he does not support forcibly removing Palestinians from Gaza, but Witkoff has said that rebuilding the Strip would take decades and said temporary relocation for Palestinians in third countries would make sense. Israeli officials are reportedly in quiet talks with countries in Africa and the Middle East to take in Palestinians from Gaza.
Advocates and international law experts have warned such plans may constitute a war crime.
The meeting comes as Qatar and Egypt are criticizing Israel for not responding to a ceasefire proposal that Hamas accepted, which hews closely to a previous U.S. proposal.
Netanyahu said Israel is looking for a deal in which Hamas would hand over about 20 living and 30 deceased hostages it kidnapped from Israel during its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, and for Hamas to demilitarize and abdicate power in Gaza.
Witkoff said Tuesday night Trump backs Netanyahu’s conditions that hostages must be released in one transfer, as opposed to being spread out over a period of weeks.
“That’s President Trump’s official position,” Witkoff said on Fox News.
“I think that he has said to himself, you don’t need to keep those hostages. We’ll have a negotiation if they want as to what next day looks like in Gaza after this is all done, and what the definition of Hamas is. We can talk about those things.”
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