President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was heading to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, a breakthrough that has eluded the administration for months as conditions worsen in Gaza.
Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokesperson, told reporters Tuesday that Witkoff was going to the region with a “strong hope” that the U.S. can deliver a ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.
“I would suggest that we might have some good news, but, again, as we know, this could be a constantly changing dynamic,” Bruce said.
Bruce didn’t have other details about where Witkoff would be going or what he had planned. It comes as Gaza saw its deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war, with at least 85 Palestinians killed while trying to reach food Sunday.
The Israeli army has said it fired warning shots, but says the reported death toll was greatly inflated. The United Nations’ food agency accused Israeli forces of firing on the crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid.
Bruce said that the incident that took place while civilians were trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel is “absolutely horrible” and reinforced why the U.S. is pushing for a new humanitarian corridor to be created as part of any truce.
The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place.
The U.S. plan calls for a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release some hostages while Israel would free Palestinian prisoners and allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. During the 60 days, the sides are also to begin negotiations on a permanent end to the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas yields power and is disarmed, while Hamas says it will not release all of the hostages until the war is over. It is seeking assurances that Netanyahu will not resume the war after the 60 days, as he did in March after an early ceasefire expired.
Hamas is holding 50 hostages — 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
