Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, said on Wednesday that he welcomed the potential for “a dialogue” with Hamas and heaped praise on Qatar for helping facilitate the cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza, despite facing scrutiny for previous ties to the Gulf nation.

Biden officials involved in the effort acknowledged that President-elect Donald Trump’s threats and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff’s participation during the final week of negotiations played a major role in bringing across the finish line a deal they had struggled to reach for more than a year.

Trump sent Witkoff to ensure the ceasefire agreement advances to the second phase, which will require hashing out more thorny questions about Gaza’s future.

The US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has visited the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media reports on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump's envoy visited the Netzarim Corridor, which was created by the Israeli military and divides the Gaza Strip into two parts,

Already, the fragile deal has come under considerable stress, and it could collapse in the weeks to come. Yet for the time being, the fighting has stopped in both Gaza and Lebanon, and hostages have begun to come home.