By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump would chair a meeting on Gaza at the White House on Wednesday and added that Washington expected Israel's war in the Palestinian territory to be settled by the end of the year.
The U.S. State Department separately said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Washington on Wednesday. It released the information in a regular next-day public schedule that said their meeting at the State Department would be held at 1515 ET (1915 GMT).
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Trump had promised a swift end to the war in Gaza during the 2024 U.S. election campaign and after taking office in January, but almost seven months into his term, that stated goal remains elusive.
Trump's term began with a ceasefire which lasted two months and ended when Israeli strikes killed around 400 Palestinians on March 18. In recent weeks, images of starving Palestinians in Gaza, including children, have shocked the world and fueled criticism of Israel over the worsening conditions.
KEY QUOTES
When asked on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" show if there is a post-war plan for Gaza, Witkoff said: "Yes, we've got a large meeting in the White House tomorrow, chaired by the president, and it's a very comprehensive plan we're putting together on the next day."
He did not elaborate further and did not list the meeting's participants.
When asked should Israel be doing anything differently to end the war and secure the release of the hostages, Witkoff said: "We think that we're going to settle this one way or another, certainly before the end of this year."
Witkoff said Israel was open to continuing discussions with Palestinian militant group Hamas. He said Hamas had signaled it was open to a settlement.
CONTEXT
U.S. ally Israel's devastating assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed over 62,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes at international courts that Israel denies.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward; Editing by Leslie Adler, Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry)
