US envoys in Israel to discuss future of Gaza, sources tell Reuters

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter said, as local authorities reported further violence in the enclave.

The US on Thursday 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 Saturday that Israeli fire had killed three people, including two children, in two separate incidents in the northern Gaza Strip.

Under the ceasefire accord, Israeli troops were to retreat to a yellow line marked on military maps that runs nearly the full length of Gaza.

Since the beginning of the war, the death toll in Gaza now stands at 71,654 people, with 481 deaths since the October ceasefire, according to the 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 October 7, 2023..

Earlier this month, 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. ​