Trump's hostage pointman joins crowds at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv to watch chaotic release of three Israelis, five Thais The post Witkoff meets freed soldiers, ex-hostages, officials, stresses commitment to full deal appeared first on The Times of Israel.

U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, aiming to reinforce Israel’s fragile ceasefire with Hamas militants in Gaza after more than 15 months of warfare.

Follow NBC News live updates for the latest coverage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

After 14 months of talks, Trump’s threats and his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, played a major role in helping Biden officials reach the finish line.

Israel and Hamas are set to carry out their third exchange of hostages and prisoners on Thursday as part of a ceasefire agreement that has halted fighting in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is due to release three Israelis and five Thai citizens. Israel is releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners.

Trump sent Witkoff to ensure the ceasefire agreement advances to the second phase, which will require hashing out more thorny questions about Gaza’s future.

The real estate magnate-turned-diplomat reflects on his son's death as he travels to Israel to oversee implementation of Gaza ceasefire.

Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff becomes the first U.S. official to visit Gaza in more than a decade, ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

JERUSALEM: Buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners arrived to cheers in the occupied West Bank on Thursday (Jan 30), after chaos during the release by Gaza militants of three Israeli hostages and

Israel resumed the release of Palestinian prisoners following a delay Netanyahu ordered, citing concerns over the treatment of hostages during their release.

There is "almost nothing left" of Gaza and rebuilding the war-ravaged enclave could take 10 to 15 years, U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios in an interview at the end of his trip to the region on Thursday.