Trump envoy will join Gaza talks in effort to reach a deal by inauguration

• Trump has threatened there would be "hell to pay in the Middle East" if Hamas didn't release the hostages by the time he is inaugurated. President Biden also made mediating a deal a top priority for his final months in office.

Driving the news: At a press conference in Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Witkoff said negotiators were "making a lot of progress" on a deal.

• "I'm really hopeful that by the inaugural, we'll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president," Witkoff said.
• Trump, who Wikoff described as "exasperated" when it comes to the Gaza deal, said on Tuesday that he doesn't want to say anything that could harm the negotiations but reiterated his threat.
• "If these hostages aren't back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East — it will not be good for Hamas or anybody else," Trump said.

100 hostages are still held by Hamas in Gaza, among them seven Americans. Roughly half of the hostages are believed to be still alive, according to Israeli intelligence, including three Americans.

• If an agreement is reached, the first phase could include the release of 33 hostages — some who are still alive and some who are dead.
• The first phase is also expected to include a ceasefire in Gaza for a period of between six and seven weeks and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including those who murdered Israelis.

State of play: An eight-day round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas during the last week of December didn't lead to a breakthrough. U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators said they managed to make some progress but not enough to get a deal.

• Last Friday, Israeli negotiators returned to Doha for another round of talks with the mediators. Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk also joined the talks on Sunday.
• A U.S. official said McGurk and Witkoff talk regularly and the discussions are constructive. "These conversations are appropriate given the stakes and are what the American people should expect to be happening. We share the common aim to get the hostages out," the U.S. official said.
• An Israeli official said gaps remain between Israel and Hamas on almost all of issues being negotiated. He said that while it is going to be very hard to reach a deal by Jan. 20, there is "cautious optimism" that a deal could be reached in the next few weeks.

Yes, but: It isn't clear yet when Mossad director David Barnea is going to join the talks in Qatar. Israeli officials said not enough progress has been made to justify him going to Doha.

The other side: Hamas official Osama Hamdan said on Tuesday that the group and its supporters in Gaza are not afraid of Trump's threats "because they already live in hell" in Gaza.

• Hamadan said he doesn't think a deal will be reached by Jan. 20.
• Hamas official Ahmad Abdul Hadi told al-Mayadeen television network on Monday that the "decision is in Netanyahu's court" and reiterated Hamas' position that any deal would need to include an end to the war in Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal.

Behind the scenes: U.S. and Israeli officials say Hamas' top military leader in Gaza — Mohammed Sinwar, the brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — doesn't seem to be deterred by Trump's threat.

• The officials said Sinwar refuses to provide a list that clarifies which hostages that would be released in the first phase of the deal — which includes women, men over the age of 50, and men under the age of 50 who are in serious medical condition — are still alive.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.