Jerusalem, Israel. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Gaza as the main topic, according to two people briefed on the matter. Local authorities reported further violence in the enclave.
Talks and reconstruction plans
The United States on Thursday announced plans for a “New Gaza” rebuilt from scratch, to include residential towers, data centres and seaside resorts.
The project forms part of President Donald Trump’s push to advance an October ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas that has been shaken by repeated violations.
A spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office confirmed that the meeting was planned but did not provide further details.
Reported killings and death toll
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that Israeli fire had killed three people, including two children, in two separate incidents in the northern Gaza Strip.
Since the beginning of the war, the death toll in Gaza now stands at 71,654 people, with 481 deaths since the October ceasefire, according to Health Ministry data.
War background and Rafah crossing plans
Gaza has been reduced to rubble in the war that was triggered by an attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Ali Shaath, the head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the U.S. to temporarily administer Gaza, said on Thursday that the Rafah border crossing would open next week.
The Rafah border crossing is effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2 million people who live there.
Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border’s expected opening.
The border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of Trump’s plan to end the war.
What impact do you think the planned opening of the Rafah crossing could have on Gaza’s residents?
