Trump’s plan for post-war Gaza shaping up

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff promised a “robust” and “well-meaning” plan reflecting Trump’s vision for Gaza, which would see Hamas ousted from power.

By World Israel News Staff

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said the Trump administration is preparing a plan for post-war governance of the Gaza Strip, suggesting that Israel’s war against Hamas is nearing its end.

“Yes, we’ve got a large meeting in the White House tomorrow, chaired by the president, and it’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together” for post-war Gaza, Witkoff told Fox News on Tuesday.

Witkoff did not provide details on who would participate in the meeting or which international bodies or countries might be tasked with governing the enclave once the fighting ends.

When pressed for more specifics about the plan, he said, “many people are going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is, and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives.”

Witkoff also offered a timeline for ending the conflict that differed from Trump’s most recent prediction.

“We think that we’re going to settle this one way or another, certainly before the end of this year,” he said — just a day after Trump hinted that the war should be over by mid-September.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel has no intention of ruling Gaza after Hamas is defeated.

“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body,” Netanyahu said.

“We will never hand [Gaza] over to the Palestinian Authority or Hamas,” he added.

“We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly, without threatening us, and giving the Gazans a good life.”

Samir Halilah, a businessman living in Canada and originally from Jericho, said that the Trump administration had asked him to lead a transitional government in Gaza.