Trump envoy to meet Middle East officials to discuss Gaza ceasefire, second phase

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East will host senior officials from Middle Eastern countries who are mediators in the Gaza ceasefire.

Steve Witkoff was a key Trump delegate to handle the peace negotiations.

He will meet in Miami with officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, a US State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide a glimpse of the meeting, which has not been publicly announced.

There, officials will review the implementation of Phase 2 of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on October 10, bringing an end to more than two years of war.

In the first phase, Hamas returned the hostages it was holding while Israel returned thousands of Palestinian prisoners and allowed more humanitarian aid to enter war-torn Gaza.

The ceasefire has since stalled, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

The second phase, which is far more challenging, is supposed to involve the deployment of international security forces, an internationally supervised technocratic governing body for Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the further withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.

This process will be overseen by a "Peace Council" chaired by President Donald Trump.

Neither the council nor the international forces have gathered. Israel has expressed its opposition to the potential participation of various countries, including Turkey.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the participation of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Friday's talks, December 19 in Miami.

The Prime Minister of Qatar, who also serves as the country's foreign minister, said in an interview on Al Jazeeram that he would also join the meeting.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stressed there was an "urgent need" to move to the next phase and form a Palestinian civilian government in Gaza.

He said international forces should not "protect one party at the expense of another."