President Donald Trump hasn’t officially started in the White House yet, but he’s already getting started on ceasefire diplomacy for Gaza.
According to Newsmax, President Trump’s Middle East envoy traveled to Qatar, who will be a key mediator in the negotiations, and Israel to get started on a Gaza ceasefire and the release of the hostages. The Hill reported that President Trump selected Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs alongside envoy Steve Witkoff.
President Trump had written on Truth Social that Boehler “knows that NO ONE is tougher than the United States of America, at least when President Trump is its Leader. Adam will work tirelessly to bring our Great American Citizens HOME.”
The envoy hopes to reach a ceasefire deal before President Trump’s January 20 inaugural, and a source revealed to Newsmax that Middle East officials are supportive of President Trump’s ceasefire deal.
President Trump wrote about the ceasefire push on Truth Social, writing, “Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action!” He also warned that if no hostages are released by January 20, “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity.”
Witkoff met separately in late November with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The source revealed that during the November meetings “Both agreed a Gaza ceasefire is needed before Trump’s inauguration so that once the Trump administration takes office it can move onto other issues, like stabilizing Gaza and the region.”
According to Newsmax, there are plans for more rounds of indirect talks between Israel and militant group Hamas set to take place in Doha, although no date has been set yet. President Trump issued a strong warning about the treatment of the hostages on Truth Social, “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”