White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN on Sunday that he will travel to the Middle East later in the week to discuss an extension to phase one of the hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
“We have to get an extension of phase one, and so I’ll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that,” Witkoff said.
He added: "We’re hopeful that we have the proper time to begin phase two, and finish it off and get more hostages released.”
Last week, Witkoff expressed hope that momentum from the first stage would carry over into the second, particularly given the anguish faced by families with loved ones still being held hostage.
"I hope a lot of the goodwill from the first [stage] carries over to [Stage] Two because there are a lot of families who have children there who are held hostage," he said. He added, "I have a lot of empathy because I lost a child. I talk to these families, and they want their children's bodies back as much as those who have children alive."
Expanding on the complexities of the negotiations, Witkoff noted, "The issue with [Stage] Two is that there's supposed to be an end to the war and the Israelis have a red line that Hamas cannot be in the government. It's hard to square that circle, but we're making a lot of progress in that conversation, and hopefully, it leads to good things and good results."