President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy has announced plans to visit Gaza to ensure the conditions of the recent ceasefire-for-hostages deal are being upheld, marking the first high-ranking US official known to visit the Strip in years.
Steve Witkoff, who participated in negotiating the plan alongside members of the outgoing Biden administration, revealed in an interview that he will be part of an 'inspection team' at the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors. These corridors serve as areas where external overseers ensure the safety of individuals entering, confirming they are unarmed and have no malicious intentions.
Providing some context, the Philadelphi corridor is a narrow strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border that was a focal point during the ceasefire discussions. Netzarim, on the other hand, is a significant buffer zone established by the IDF that divides the Gaza Strip.
During the interview, Witkoff expressed that the real challenge may lie in implementing the deal rather than reaching the agreement itself. President Trump had recently expressed doubts about the sustainability of the deal, stating his lack of confidence in its longevity.
Witkoff remarked, 'I think that the implementation of it is probably more difficult than the execution of the deal. The execution was a big step. That was the condition precedent. We had to get it done and we did, thank god. And now we’ve got to implement.'
