Washington, MINA – US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, announced plans Wednesday to travel to the region to join an inspection team monitoring compliance with the ceasefire in and around the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reported.
Witkoff told Fox News that he will be part of the inspection effort at two key locations — the Netzarim corridor and Philadelphia — to ensure compliance with the ceasefire that went into effect Sunday. The team’s role will be to verify that those entering the area are unarmed and do not pose a threat.
“The implementation (The ceasefire) may be harder than the implementation of the deal,” Witkoff said. “We had to get it done, and we did, thank God. And now we have to implement it.”
Witkoff expressed optimism about broader Middle East normalization with Israel, pointing to Qatar as a key player in securing the ceasefire deal.
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“I think you can get everybody in the region involved,” he said. “I think there’s a new sense of leadership there.”
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement came into effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave.
The three-phase agreement includes prisoner exchanges and ongoing calm, aiming for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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