U.S. officials arrived in Israel on Saturday for high-level talks focused on Gaza and rising regional tensions involving Iran, as Washington steps up diplomatic and military engagement across the region.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The U.S. on Thursday announced plans for a “New Gaza” rebuilt from scratch, to include residential towers, data centers and seaside resorts, part of President Donald Trump’s push to advance an Israel-Hamas cease-fire shaken by repeated Israeli violations.
The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the U.S. to temporarily administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, said on Thursday that the Rafah border crossing - effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2 million people who live there - would open next week.
