Trump Middle East envoy predicts 'good things' to announce on Gaza hostages before inauguration

Gram Slattery - Reuters - 07/01
President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as U.S. president on Jan. 20.
  • Witkoff optimistic about progress in Doha negotiations
  • Trump warns of consequences if hostages not released
  • Over 100 hostages freed, 101 still held in Gaza
Jan 7 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as U.S. president on Jan. 20.
"Well, I think we're making a lot of progress, and I don't want to say too much because I think they're doing a really good job back in Doha," Witkoff said at a Trump press conference in Palm Beach, Florida.
Doha has been hosting negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza war that would include freeing hostages that Hamas abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Doha is capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, which along with Egypt and the U.S. has been mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Witkoff said that he if did not travel back to Doha on Tuesday night, he would head there on Wednesday night.
"I think that we've had some really great progress, and I'm really hopeful that by the inaugural, we'll have some good th...
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