Witkoff has been pushing for a new 60-day cease-fire deal that would involve Israeli withdrawal from its recent gains in Gaza; letting the U.N. back in to distribute aid; and the release of only about half of the remaining 58 hostages, ten living and 18 dead, in two groups, in exchange for the release of terrorists being held by Israel (Trump had previously said he was frustrated with these sorts of piecemeal proposals). As of this writing, the fate of the deal remains unclear.
A meeting in Washington between Witkoff and Israel’s strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, was described in a report by the Times of Israel as “uneasy,” with Witkoff said to be growing impatient with Israel. These are the sorts of stories we would regularly read about Biden administration officials venting at Israelis, and we had hoped that the election of Trump would put an end to them.