US envoys in Israel to discuss future of Gaza, say sources
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The US on Jan 22 announced plans for a “New Gaza” rebuilt from scratch.
PHOTO: REUTERS
JERUSALEM – US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Jan 24 to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter said, as the local authorities reported further violence in the enclave.
The US on Jan 22 announced plans for a “New Gaza” rebuilt from scratch, to include residential towers, data centres and seaside resorts.
The project forms part of President Donald Trump’s push to advance an October ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas that has been shaken by repeated violations.
Local authorities report more deaths
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said on Jan 24 that Israeli fire had killed three people, including two children, in two separate incidents in the northern Gaza Strip.
Since the beginning of the war, the death toll in Gaza now stands at 71,654 people, with 481 deaths since the October 2025 ceasefire, according to Health Ministry data.
A spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office confirmed that the meeting was planned but did not provide further details.
Gaza has been reduced to rubble in the war that was triggered by an attack by Hamas on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
The head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the US to temporarily administer Gaza, Mr Ali Shaath, said on Jan 22 that the Rafah border crossing – effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than two million people who live there – would open next week.
Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border’s expected opening.
The border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of Mr Trump’s plan to end the war.
Earlier in January, Washington announced that the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration.
The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024. REUTERS
