Trump Envoy Meets With Israeli Hostage Families Amid Rising Tensions
Steve Witkoff, former President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, met with families of Israeli hostages on Tuesday, just a day after he publicly criticized Israel for prolonging the conflict in Gaza. Witkoff’s visit comes as Israeli negotiators prepare to travel to Doha on Wednesday for ceasefire talks. According to local media, Witkoff expressed optimism about the potential for progress in the upcoming negotiations.
It remains unclear whether Trump—who is also scheduled to be in Qatar on Wednesday—will engage directly, indirectly, or at all with Israeli or Hamas representatives involved in the peace talks.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a strike in Gaza on Tuesday, claiming it targeted a Hamas command center located beneath a hospital. Israeli media outlets, citing military sources, reported that the airstrike sought to eliminate Mohammed Sinwar, the brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in October.
Mohammed Sinwar assumed leadership of Hamas after his brother’s death and, according to CNN, would play a crucial role in approving any potential ceasefire deal. However, his name did not appear on casualty lists released by officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza following the strike.
The BBC reported that the hospital bombing resulted in 28 deaths, adding that a freelance journalist working for the network had been injured along with dozens of others. The image accompanying their report shows the devastation at the scene.
In a separate incident, another journalist, Hassan Aslih, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a different hospital. Aslih, a prominent social media figure with a large following, had previously survived an earlier assassination attempt and was recovering at Nasser Hospital at the time. Reuters reported that Israel accused him of having ties to Hamas.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that at least 138 journalists have been killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, with the vast majority being Palestinian. Israel has restricted access for foreign media to the Gaza Strip during the war.
The hospital targeted in Tuesday’s bombing was the European Hospital, a facility originally built with European Union funding. It is among the few remaining hospitals still operational in Gaza after more than 18 months of sustained Israeli bombardment.
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