(Reuters) – U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff could travel to the Middle East on Sunday if negotiations on the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas go well, Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported on X on Tuesday.
The U.S. Middle East envoy told an American Jewish Congress event that an Israeli delegation will travel in the coming days to Doha or Cairo to negotiate the next stage of the deal, Ravid wrote. Qatar and Egypt have acted as mediators in the talks.
“If it goes well I might travel to the region on Sunday,” Ravid quoted Witkoff as saying.
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Ravid, citing a source, reported earlier on Tuesday that Witkoff delayed a planned trip to the Middle East by a few days due to U.S. diplomatic efforts related to Russia and Ukraine.
The three-stage ceasefire, which came into effect on January 19, is now nearing the end of its first phase. Some Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees and prisoners held by Israel have been released during the truce. The U.N. has condemned the treatment of the captives and said their images upon release suggested they were kept in dire circumstances.
The ceasefire has largely held despite accusations of violations by both sides and a series of setbacks.
If no agreement is reached by Friday, officials expect either a return to fighting or a freeze in the current situation in which the truce would continue but Israeli hostages in Gaza would not return and Israel may block the entry of aid into the Palestinian enclave.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas and Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Kanishka Singh and Edwina Gibbs)
