US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will meet with Israeli and Qatari officials in Rome on Thursday to discuss hostage and ceasefire deal talks, sources told The Jerusalem Post.
Axios reported that Witkoff will meet with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and a senior Qatari envoy.
If sufficient progress is made, Witkoff will travel from Rome to Doha towards the end of the week to secure a deal, Axios reported, citing a US and Israeli source.
A senior security official told Walla on Tuesday that "We are in the midst of negotiations - really in the final stretch."
Witkoff said last Wednesday that ceasefire negotiations were going well. Trump, during a bill signing ceremony in Washington, thanked Witkoff and also commented on progress, "We have some good news on Gaza and some other things that we are working on."
Talks in recent weeks have largely focused on IDF deployment in Gaza during a ceasefire, with the Post learning last week that Israel had effectively conceded control over the Morag Corridor, based on the maps it presented to mediators.
Focus on IDF withdrawal
The impending potential deal with Hamas may include the government agreeing to an IDF withdrawal to virtually the same Gaza security perimeter that Israel held in January, sources acknowledged to the Post on Monday.
In January, the IDF withdrew from all deeper portions of Gaza it had been in, in Gaza City, Khan Yunis, Rafah, and central Gaza to a security perimeter of around 700-1,000 meters around the Israel-Gaza border.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report. This is a developing story.