2 View gallery
Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East
(Photo: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool)
Trump did not provide specific details about the negotiations or a timeline for a potential agreement.
Later, Netanyahu’s office said he had held a security consultation on the hostage issue with Israel’s negotiation team and top defense officials.
At Wednesday night’s Security Cabinet meeting—held without senior defense chiefs—ministers were briefed on Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and discussed intensifying military pressure on Hamas. Transportation Minister Miri Regev argued current pressure was not enough, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for seizing Gaza and promoting emigration “according to Trump’s plan.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged a large-scale ground maneuver if Hamas doesn’t release all the hostages.
Sources say Trump will tolerate only a few more weeks of fighting—possibly two to three—before demanding an end to the war. “There’s no end to this war without resolving the hostage issue,” an Israeli source said.
Meanwhile, recently released hostage Karina Arayev, who spent 477 days in Hamas captivity, appealed to the public ahead of Passover: “Until they return, none of us are truly free.”
