Steve Witkoff Plays Role in Gaza Ceasefire Deal

Developer Steve Witkoff found himself on the periphery of one of the most significant negotiations in international relations.

Witkoff played a role in the negotiations that resulted in a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the New York Times reported. His involvement comes after president-elect Donald Trump named the developer as Middle East envoy.

While Trump quickly claimed credit for the breakthrough in negotiations to pause hostilities in the 15-month war, the role Witkoff played on the ground may have been limited. Even last week, Witkoff said negotiator Brett McGurk was taking the lead in talks.

The two began meeting shortly after Trump’s victory over Joe Biden in the presidential election. McGurk kept Witkoff in the loop as negotiations progressed, bringing him to Doha, Qatar for the final round of negotiations. (Witkoff has a history of working with Qatar, having sold the Park Lane Hotel to the government-funded Qatar Investment Authority in 2023.) Witkoff met with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the deal on Saturday, flying there from Qatar that same day.

Witkoff applied pressure to Netanyahu, reinforcing Trump’s message about wanting a deal by the time his inauguration rolls around on Monday. The president-elect previously promised “all hell” would break loose if there was no deal by then.

Collaboration was critical as the Trump administration will be left to enforce what the Biden administration put together. The multiphase ceasefire is tenuous and already encountering delays on Israel’s end a day after it was announced.

Witkoff’s friendship with Trump has turned the former into a political Forrest Gump, finding himself near the center of multiple geopolitical events in the past year.

Trump credited Witkoff with helping the then-candidate bury the hatchet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. On social media this April, Trump thanked Witkoff for helping to facilitate a “great meeting” between the two.

In July, Witkoff advocated for Trump at the Republican National Convention, giving a speech that shed more light on Trump’s humanity, discussing how the presidential candidate was there after one of Witkoff’s sons died from an opioid overdose.

And in September, Witkoff was golfing with Trump in West Palm Beach when a Secret Service agent opened fire on a man hiding along the perimeter of the course, preventing what appeared to be a potential assassination attempt.

— Holden Walter-Warner