Trump's envoy meets Netanyahu for Gaza aid, ceasefire push

By Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi

JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in a bid to salvage Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor has warned that famine is unfolding. 

Shortly after Witkoff's arrival, President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social network: "The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!"

Indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Doha ended in deadlock last week with the sides trading blame for the impasse and gaps lingering over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal.

Witkoff arrived with Israel facing mounting international pressure over the widespread destruction of Gaza and constraints on aid in the territory, with Canada the latest Western power to say it will recognise a Palestinian state.

Israel on Wednesday sent a response to Hamas' latest amendments to a U.S. proposal that would see a 60-day ceasefire and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a source familiar with the details said. 

There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Israeli officials have in recent days said Israel might declare that it would annex parts of Gaza if the stalemate continues.

Gaza medical officials said at least 23 people were reported killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, including 12 people among crowds who had gathered to receive aid around the Netzarim corridor, an area held by Israeli troops in central Gaza.

The Israeli military said that its troops had fired warning shots to disperse crowds that were endangering them with no casualties identified.

Since the war began, the Gaza health ministry has recorded 156 deaths from starvation and malnutrition, most of them in recent weeks, including at least 90 children.

Israel's Public Broadcaster Kan said Witkoff would also visit an aid distribution site in Gaza.

Confronted by rising international outrage over images of starving children, Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and designate secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine.

CALLS ON HAMAS TO DISARM

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Wednesday the United Nations and its partners had been able to bring more food into Gaza in the first two days of pauses, but the volume was "still far from enough".

Even with more aid running through Gaza, residents face peril from Israeli forces and Palestinian looters when trying to reach the supplies.

"I have tried several times to grab a sack of flour. The only time I managed to do so, someone with a knife froze me in the street and took it away, threatening to stab me," one man from Deir Al-Balah told Reuters, asking not to be identified.  

With the number of Palestinians killed in almost two years of war passing 60,000 this week, pressure has been mounting in Gaza on Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel.  

   "We can save thousands of lives and maybe the war wouldn't resume," Rami from Gaza City told Reuters via a chat app.

Mothers of hostages led a protest outside Netanyahu's office, calling on the government to end the war.

"End this nightmare," said Yael Engel-Lichi, whose nephew had been taken hostage and released in a previous ceasefire. Twenty of the 50 hostages still held by militants in Gaza are believed to still be alive.

Netanyahu, whose ruling coalition includes two far-right parties who want to conquer Gaza and re-establish Jewish settlements there, has said he will not end the war until Hamas no longer rules the enclave and lays down its arms.

Hamas has rejected calls to disarm.

Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating the ceasefire efforts, backed a declaration on Tuesday by France and Saudi Arabia which outlined steps for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The declaration says Hamas "must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority", which is led by its rivals and exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israel has ruled out the Palestinian Authority gaining control of Gaza and on Thursday Defence Minister Israel Katz and Justice Minister Yariv Levin voiced support for annexing the West Bank - territory which the Palestinians seek for a state.

Israel has denounced declarations by France, Britain and Canada since last week that they may recognise a Palestinian state, which Israel says amounts to rewarding Hamas for its October 7, 2023 assault on Israeli territory.

That attack, when fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages back to Gaza, precipitated the war.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, embarking on a visit to Israel, said negotiations for a two-state solution must begin but that for Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state would come at the end of that process.

(Writing by Maayan Lubell; editing by Peter Graff and Mark Heinrich)