"No piecemeal deals": Witkoff tells hostage families Trump wants full Gaza agreement
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks as President Trump looks on during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office on May 28, 2025. Photo: Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
White House envoy Steve Witkoff told hostage families on Saturday that President Trump wants to "shift" the Gaza policy from trying to get a partial and phased Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal to reaching a comprehensive deal that ends the war and returns all remaining hostages at once, according to a statement by the families and recordings from the meeting.
Why it matters: Witkoff's remarks, during a two-hour meeting in Tel Aviv with dozens of families of hostages held by Hamas, were an acknowledgment that the approach Israel and the U.S. have pursued over the last six months to try and reach a partial and incremental ceasefire and hostage deal has failed.
Behind the scenes: Two members of the hostage families who were in the room said Witkoff listened for a long time to every family member who wanted to speak. "We never have these meetings with senior Israeli government officials," one family member said.
- Witkoff told the families he doesn't have "perfect news" for them but stressed he believes "we are going to be successful here ultimately" for reasons he said he can't discuss at the moment.
- "President Trump now believes that everybody ought to come home at once - no piecemeal deals. That doesn't work," Witkoff said.
- "Now we have to get all the 20 [live hostages] at the same time... we think that we have to shift this negotiation to all or nothing so that everybody comes home. We think it is going to be successful and we have a plan around it."
Catch up quick: Trump and Witkoff had a big role in closing a ceasefire and hostage deal in January, days before the inauguration.
- That deal led to the release of 33 hostages, but was supposed to open negotiations on a comprehensive deal to end the war and release all remaining hostages.
- But the Trump administration allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to violate that deal by not negotiating seriously on its next phase. Israel resumed the war unilaterally in March.
Since then, Netanyahu preferred to try and get a partial and incremental ceasefire and hostage deal. He did that for domestic political reasons, so as not to have to commit to ending the war.
- Trump preferred a comprehensive deal, but despite his reservations, endorsed Netanyahu's approach during the ensuing rounds of talks, which thus far have all failed.
- In a meeting with hostage families 10 days ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear he and Trump still don't think the incremental approach is the right one and hinted that it might be time to explore a more comprehensive approach to end the war and free all the remaining hostages.
State of play: Witkoff discussed with Netanyahu on Thursday the stalemate in the negotiations over the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, an Israeli official said in a briefing with reporters.
- The official said Netanyahu and Witkoff discussed the possibility of moving from an incremental and partial Gaza deal to a comprehensive deal.
- "An understanding is being established between Israel and the U.S. that, in light of Hamas' rejectionist position, there is a need to shift from a framework for the release of some of the hostages to a framework for the release of all the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip," the Israeli official said.
Yes, but: A senior Israeli official and two other sources involved in the negotiations said a final decision to change course hasn't been made yet and stressed that the partial deal for a 60-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 live hostages and 18 deceased hostages is still on the table.
- "We are at a crossroads. Hamas is taking its time and not engaging, but this could change in the near future," the official said.
The big picture: Witkoff told the families on Saturday that any deal for ending the war in Gaza will have to include Hamas demilitarizing.
- "Hamas has said it is prepared to demilitarize. But even over and above that, multiple Arab governments are now demanding that Hamas demilitarizes. So we are very very close to a solution around this war," he said.
- Hamas responded to Witkoff's comment that were published in the Israeli press and stressed it will not disarm before the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Go deeper:
