Israel Hayom: Meeting Between Witecov and Al-Hayya Canceled Due to "Pressures"

SadaNews: The "Israel Hayom" newspaper reported on Wednesday that the meeting between U.S. envoy Steve Witecov and a senior Hamas official was canceled due to pressures and criticisms.

Witecov was supposed to meet with Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya on Wednesday in Istanbul.

According to the Israeli website "Walla," Israeli officials viewed the meeting as an acknowledgment of Hamas's status, which would complicate Israel's transition to the second phase of negotiations with the movement.

Media reports indicated that the aim of the meeting was to discuss the "next day" in the Gaza Strip.

This is not the first such meeting between the two parties; Witecov and Al-Hayya previously met in October in Sharm El-Sheikh, just moments before signing a ceasefire agreement.

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump, also attended that meeting.

The Trump administration is pressing strongly to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, while closing the file on Hamas fighters stuck in the city of Rafah in the south of the territory.

On October 10, Hamas and Israel reached an agreement for a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and that agreement has so far held despite some escalations.