By Humeyra Pamuk and Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Europe this week for meetings on Israel’s war in Gaza and a range of other issues, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, adding Witkoff will continue pushing for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
Axios reported that Witkoff is expected to depart for Rome on Wednesday and arrive on Thursday for a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and a senior Qatari envoy.
If sufficient progress is made, Witkoff will travel from Rome to Doha toward the end of the week to secure a deal, the news website reported, citing a U.S. and an Israeli source.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Talks on a proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt with Washington’s backing while the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave from U.S. ally Israel’s military assault continues to mount.
The ongoing war in Gaza has seen two ceasefires thus far, the most recent of which ended after two months when Israeli strikes killed over 400 Palestinians on March 18.
CONTEXT
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed over 59,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry says. The assault has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Chris Reese and Saad Sayeed)
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