Witkoff says Trump directed him to get Gaza ceasefire to next phase

Steve Witkoff, Trump's envoy to the Middle East, is committed to implementing the Gaza ceasefire and getting it to the second phase, he said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday.

He plans to head to Israel, where he will join an inspection team that will travel to the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors in Gaza, both areas held by Israel.

“I’m actually going to be going over to Israel. I’m going to be part of an inspection team at the Netzarim corridor and also at the Philadelphia corridor,” Witkoff said, adding that the inspectors will be there to ensure there is safety at the corridors and no one entering those areas is armed.

The trip will be Witkoff's first official visit to the Middle East and comes as the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel continues to hold. Witkoff and his team joined the negotiations in Qatar that led to the deal in the last days of the previous Biden administration, and he is widely credited for pushing the deal through.

After being inaugurated, US President Donald Trump on Monday said he wasn't confident the ceasefire would make it into its second phase.

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