President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Whitkoff plans to visit the Middle East.
“We all, as president, secretary of state and envoy, have a strong expectation that we will offer another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to come in. We look forward to that agreement and a possible framework for a ceasefire,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said at a briefing.
She did not provide any other details about where Whitkoff will go or what he plans to do.
The AP news agency writes, citing three U.S. officials, that Whitkoff is travelling to Europe this week to discuss a number of issues, particularly Gaza and cease-fire efforts, but they did not give details about stops in the Middle East or say where exactly Whitkoff will go or when.
Britain and more than 20 other countries on 21 July called for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel began fighting in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. The fighting and airstrikes have killed some 58,000 people in the Strip, according to the Palestinian side, Israel has questioned those figures and pointed out that it is unclear how many Hamas members were killed and how many civilians. Fifty hostages remain, most of them reportedly dead.
A mass demonstration was held in Tel Aviv on the evening of 19 July calling for an end to the fighting and for the release of the hostages. Participants appealed to US President Donald Trump to help achieve this.