Phase Two of Gaza Peace Plan

Second Phase of Gaza Peace Plan

"Presidential peace envoy Steve Witkoff, on Jan. 14, announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

In an X post on Jan. 14, Witkoff said the second phase will move Gaza from an initial cease-fire into a period that will include the demilitarization of the Hamas terrorist group and the establishment of a technocratic governance model.

He said the second phase will also see the start of reconstruction for the war-torn territory. The Gaza peace plan began in October 2025, and the overall strategy is supposed to proceed in three phases and achieve the 20-point plan Trump laid out in September.

“Phase Two establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel,” Witkoff wrote.

It remains unclear who will comprise Gaza’s interim government. Trump has repeatedly described this government as the Gaza “Board of Peace” and said he will chair the body." [Epoch Times]

Brokering an end to Russia's war in Ukraine

Rubio and Witkoff Meeting With Ukraine's Negotiators in Florida

as Trump Pushes to Broker a Deal

Top Trump administration officials met with Ukrainian negotiators in Florida on Sunday, pushing to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine and setting the stage for key talks planned this week in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, held talks with a Ukrainian delegation to further hash out the details of a proposed peace framework. The negotiations come at a sensitive moment for Ukraine as it continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022.

“The end goal, obviously, is not just the end of the war,” Rubio said at the start of the meeting. “But it’s also about securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity.”

“This is not just about peace deals,” the top American diplomat said as the teams sat down at the Shell Bay Club, a golf and racket club developed by Witkoff in Hallandale Beach.

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CIA briefings contradicted reality on the ground

Trump’s peace deal negotiators just pulled back the curtain on something disturbing

The intelligence community has some explaining to do.

And Steve Witkoff just exposed one ugly truth about the CIA that has Trump fuming.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner achieved what presidents tried and failed to accomplish for decades – they got Hamas to agree to a ceasefire that freed the remaining hostages in Gaza.

But the two Trump negotiators revealed something shocking during their "60 Minutes" interview that aired Sunday.

While they were working behind the scenes with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey – who all expressed confidence Hamas was ready to accept Trump’s peace deal – the CIA was telling them the exact opposite.

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Kushner and Witkoff ended the "Word Games" for Peace

Jared Kushner Reveals How 'Stupid Word Games' Impacted Middle East Negotiations

Jared Kushner opened up about his role in brokering the recent Gaza ceasefire during an in-depth interview on Sunday’s 60 Minutes, describing years of failed diplomacy in the region as “stupid word games.”

Appearing alongside U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Kushner detailed how the pair helped mediate the deal between Israel and Hamas following their two-year conflict. Host Lesley Stahl said the two men relied less on traditional diplomatic tools and more on “the intensely personal techniques of real estate dealmakers,” including “dangling presidential promises, protections or punishments.”

Kushner told Stahl that, at its core, the negotiation was not complicated. “We wanted the hostages to come out. We wanted a real ceasefire that both sides would respect. We needed a way to bring humanitarian aid into the people,” he said. “And then we had to write all these complex words to deal with the 50 years of stupid word games that everyone in that region is so used to playing.”

He said both sides ultimately wanted the same outcome — peace — but needed help navigating the political language that had bogged down prior negotiations.

Stahl pressed Kushner and Witkoff about their extensive business ties to Middle Eastern countries and whether that presented conflicts of interest...typical of her. Kushner dismissed the criticism. “What people call conflicts of interest, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships,” he said. “If Steve and I didn’t have these deep relationships, the deal we were able to get done — that freed these hostages — would not have occurred.”

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Senator Fetterman urges peace deal

Senator Fetterman Gives Thoughts as Trump Brokers Israel-Hamas Peace Deal

Sen. John Fetterman is once again taking a firm stand for Israel — and this time, he’s urging Hamas to accept the peace deal President Donald Trump is working to broker.

The Pennsylvania Democrat, known for his unwavering support of Israel, blasted pro-Palestinian protesters who have ignored Hamas’s role in prolonging the conflict.

“Good morning to everyone except all the protesters who aren’t protesting for Hamas to accept the peace deal,” Fetterman wrote Sunday on X.

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And so, the War in Gaza is ending, thanks to all involved on the right side working alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, who traveled to Egypt to join mediators from that country and Qatar in negotiating with the terrorist group, Hamas.

Hamas to Release Last Live American Hostage

At any moment--

Hamas to Release Israeli-American Hostage Edan Alexander

Hamas said Sunday it will release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held for over 550 days, as part of an effort to reach a ceasefire deal and resume humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.

Alexander's release is also thought to be a gesture by Hamas to President Trump as he visits the Middle East later this week, sources said.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff spoke to Alexander's parents and notified them of Hamas' plans, the source said. Witkoff is expected to travel to Israel on Monday ahead of his release.

Alexander is the only living American citizen among the 59 hostages being held by Hamas. Only 21 of those hostages are known to still be alive, and the condition of three others isn't clear.

Four of the dead hostages are American citizens: Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, Judi Haggai and Omer Nuetra.

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U.S. and Iran still in Technical Discussions

US and Iran Conclude 3rd Round of Nuclear Talks, Schedule 4th

Experts from the United States and Iran held their first technical discussions about the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

The discussions in the Omani capital of Muscat follow two high-profile meetings between U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the preceding weeks.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who mediated the two previous rounds of talks in Muscat and Rome, said that Iran and the United States “identified a shared aspiration to reach agreement based on mutual respect and enduring commitments.”

President Donald Trump has made preventing Tehran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon a priority of his foreign policy platform, and his administration has expressed a willingness to allow Tehran to maintain its nuclear power facilities provided it ceases enriching uranium and does not seek a nuclear weapon.

Iran previously maintained that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes only, but in recent years began to suggest that it could obtain a nuclear weapon but had not yet decided to do so.

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High-stakes nuclear talks resume with Iran

Can Trump Stop Iran’s Bomb? Talks Resume with a Warning

High-stakes nuclear talks resume as Tehran teeters closer to the line

It’s been nearly seven years since President Trump pulled the plug on Obama’s disastrous nuclear deal with Iran. Back then, the media lost their minds. They called it reckless, short-sighted, even dangerous. But here we are in 2025, and history is proving Trump right.

This week, delegates from the United States and Iran met in Oman. The purpose? To reengage—indirectly—on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Trump’s team, led by U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, is picking up a diplomatic thread left in tatters after years of deceit, empty promises, and uranium enrichment behind the world’s back.

But don’t mistake this for weakness. These talks are happening because Trump is back, and the message is clear: we’re talking, but we’re not playing games.

Iran’s nuclear program has reached what experts call an “extreme danger” threshold. According to the IAEA, Iran’s uranium stockpile is now over 18,000 pounds—nearly 30 times what was allowed under the original 2015 deal. And they’re enriching it to 60%, which is just shy of weapons-grade.

That’s not a civilian energy program. That’s a red alert.

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Netanyahu at White House today

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington, D.C., on Sunday

He checked into Blair House, the official guest residence for visiting dignitaries. This marks his 14th stay there, the most by any foreign leader.

This will be Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader since resuming office.

Their discussions are expected to focus on the current ceasefire with Hamas, strategies to counter Iran and efforts to expand diplomatic relations with Arab nations, including potential normalization with Saudi Arabia.

Negotiations are set to begin this week on a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza following a six-week pause in fighting and the release of at least 38 hostages. The current agreement began on Jan. 19; 18 hostages have been released so far in four exchanges for Palestinian prisoners. [The Forward]

Tentative schedule…

• Monday: Netanyahu is expected to meet with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Mideast envoy, to discuss the forthcoming second phase of the hostage-for-ceasefire deal. The two also met last week in Israel. (Haaretz)
• Tuesday: Trump and Netanyahu are set to meet at 6 p.m., followed by a late dinner at 9 p.m. They might also hold a press conference with families of the hostages. (Times of Israel)
• Wednesday: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Congressional leaders are set to meet with Netanyahu. (Times of Israel)

More on the war…
• Trump invited Jord
an’s King Abdullah II to the White House later this month, their first meeting since Trump suggested Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza. (Times of Israel)
• Jordan joined the other 21 members of the Arab League on Saturday in denouncing the idea. (AP, Times of Israel)

Hamas taking Trump seriously

Hostage deal could come any time

Hamas accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire-for-hostage deal, according to officials involved in the process, with a deal potentially being signed as early as  Jan 14. (Reuters)

• The deal would see the release of 33 hostages, held for over 15 months and most of them alive, in the first six-week stage. Among the 33 are five female Israeli soldiers, who would each be exchanged for 50 Palestinian prisoners, according to a draft of the deal. (Times of Israel)

• During this time, Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of Gaza, Palestinians would begin to start moving back home, and a surge of 600 humanitarian aid trucks would be allowed in each day. (Times of Israel)

• The deal was mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar; President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, also met with top leaders in the region. “I have learned from my many years of public service to never, never, never, ever give up,” President Joe Biden said during a wide-ranging foreign policy speech Monday. (Times of Israel)

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to lay out a plan for rebuilding a post-war Gaza in a speech in D.C. (Axios)

• Far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, said they would leave Netanyahu’s government coalition if the deal goes through. Ben-Gvir also acknowledged that he repeatedly foiled plans for a deal last year. (Times of Israel)