Israel – Times of Israel, March 09, 2025
US envoy Witkoff reportedly expected in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and in Doha on Wednesday; hostage families sleep outside Defense Ministry, demanding deal.
Israel was set to dispatch a delegation to Doha on Monday for a fresh round of talks on extending the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, after cutting off aid to the Strip in a bid to pressure the ruling Hamas terror group there.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, and then to the Qatari capital on Wednesday, as talks were taking place, Channel 12 news reported. It was unclear when, or whether, he will be in Israel.
The so-called Witkoff outline — which the US backed, but did not claim credit for — is up for discussion in the talks, according to the network. The outline would see Hamas release 10 living hostages, including American-Israeli Edan Alexander, in exchange for a further 60 days of ceasefire.
The first phase of the three-phase hostage-ceasefire deal agreed to in January ended on March 1 with no agreement on subsequent stages that could secure a permanent end to the war, but both sides have since refrained from resuming full-scale fighting.
