US White House envoy Steve Witkoff announced Saturday that President Trump wants to shift from a partial and phased ceasefire to a comprehensive deal in Gaza, aiming to end the war and return all remaining hostages at once.
The move comes as the US approach to negotiations with Hamas over the last six months has failed. Witkoff met with dozens of families of hostages held by Hamas in Tel Aviv, where he acknowledged that the current method has not worked.
Instead, Trump now believes that “everybody ought to come home at once” without piecemeal deals. A comprehensive deal is needed to ensure all 20 live hostages are released simultaneously. Witkoff stated that this approach will be successful and a plan has been developed around it.
The shift in policy comes as the US had previously endorsed a partial ceasefire, which was agreed upon by Trump and Witkoff in January but allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deviate from it. Since then, Israel resumed the war unilaterally in March.
The negotiations have stalled, with Hamas rejecting the idea of demilitarizing before establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. However, multiple Arab governments are demanding that Hamas demilitarize.
The US and Israel believe they are close to a solution around the Gaza conflict, with Witkoff stating that any deal will require Hamas to demilitarize.
Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/08/02/witkoff-hostage-families-trump-deal-gaza-war