U.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 Gaza.
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.
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.
The latest bloodshed in the 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.
‘Mass starvation’
Some 111 aid organizations warned on Wednesday that “mass starvation” was spreading in Gaza.
The statement, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, warned that “our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away.”
The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that the “horror” facing Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli military attack was unprecedented in recent years.
The head of Gaza’s largest hospital said on Tuesday that 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days.
More than two dozen Western countries recently urged an immediate end to the war, saying suffering in Gaza had “reached new depths.”
(With input from Reuters, AFP)
U.S. Middle East envoy Witkoff to travel to Europe and discuss Gaza
