Trump Special Envoy Talks Up Phase 2 of Gaza Ceasefire

In appearances on the Sunday talk shows on Feb. 23, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff talked about extending phase 1 of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and negotiating phase 2, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far refused to do. “We have to get an extension of phase 1, and so I’ll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday [Feb. 26], to negotiate that,” Witkoff told CNN. He later told CBS that his trip will include stops in Qatar, Egypt, Israel, the U.A.E., and Saudi Arabia, reported the Times of Israel. “We’re hopeful that we have the proper time … to begin phase two, and finish it off and get more hostages released,” the top Trump aide said Sunday. “We will get to phase 2.… I think it’s going to happen.”