Media reports on Friday indicated that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to the Middle East to follow up on the implementation of President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, as Washington urged Israel to honor the ceasefire agreement.
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According to the news site Axios, a U.S. official said Witkoff is expected to depart for the region on Sunday to oversee the execution of the agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
A well-informed source added that Witkoff will visit Egypt, Israel, and is likely to visit Gaza as well.
In the same context, Israel’s public broadcaster reported that Washington had asked Israel not to violate the agreement and urged it to allow mediators the opportunity to resolve the ongoing issue of the hostages’ remains.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, Israeli assessments suggest that Hamas will deliver more bodies of the hostages during the coming week.
However, Israeli media also reported that security agencies are preparing to receive another batch of hostages’ remains later tonight. The Al-Qassam Brigades announced it would hand over the body of one Israeli prisoner that was recovered earlier in the day in the Gaza Strip at 11 p.m. Gaza time.
Axios cited a senior Israeli official as saying that U.S. President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he was aware of the delay in the handover of the hostages’ bodies and was working to resolve the issue.
In response, Netanyahu reportedly told Trump that “Hamas is lying” and urged mediators to pressure the group to return more bodies.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated that Hamas knows the locations of the hostages’ remains, adding that “Hamas must comply with Trump’s plan — time is running out.”
The statement further stressed that “Hamas’s weapons will be dismantled — this issue is settled.”
According to Axios, quoting a senior Israeli official via Al Jazeera, “Hamas has chosen not to hand over bodies that could be delivered, thereby creating a crisis.”
