with senior Israeli and Qatari officials, hoping to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages before the former US president returns to the White House.

Steven Witkoff, the New York real estate investor Trump has chosen as his envoy to the region, held talks last month with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who has been a mediator in the Hamas talks. and Israel, two people familiar with it. with the conversations he said.

A day later, on Nov. 23, he flew to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a diplomat briefed on the discussions said. An Israeli official and a former Trump administration official also confirmed the meeting. Mossad chief David Barnea, Israel’s chief negotiator, then met with Qatar’s prime minister in Vienna on Nov. 24, two people familiar with the matter said.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The talks, which took place just weeks after the US election, underscore the new urgency that Trump’s victory has injected into previously stalled negotiations.

The president-elect has demanded that the hostages be released before his inauguration on January 20, posting on his Truth Social network on Monday that “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East” if they are not. Around 100 are being held by Hamas in Gaza, more than a third of whom are believed to be dead.

If negotiations were successful before Trump’s inauguration, they would echo the historic release of hundreds of American diplomatic staff held hostage by Iran on Ronald Reagan’s inauguration day in 1981, and overshadow the months of efforts by outgoing President Joe Biden’s team to facilitate exchanges of Israeli prisoners for Palestinians.

During the flurry of talks, Witkoff discussed mediation efforts to end the 14-month war between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages held in the besieged strip.

A diplomat briefed on the talks said Witkoff was pushing for a ceasefire “before Trump’s inauguration so that once the Trump administration takes office he can move on to other issues, such as stabilizing the region after a year full of war and instability.”

Witkoff’s shuttle diplomacy also highlights how Trump, who has promised to bring peace to the Middle East, is already influencing the situation in the region more than a month before taking office. Biden envoy Amos Hochstein communicated with Trump’s team, including Witkoff, while negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant movement.

The conflict in Gaza began after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which the militant group killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, according to officials. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed at least 44,500 Palestinians, health officials in the enclave say.

Talks to end the war in Gaza have been stalled for months, with Hamas insisting that any agreement must conclude with a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the strip.

Those conditions remain unacceptable to Netanyahu and his far-right coalition. Members of his cabinet have threatened to collapse the government if Netanyahu agrees to end the war before achieving a “total victory” against Hamas.

In a minor concession, Israel offered a 60-day ceasefire and softened its objection to releasing at least some Palestinian prisoners convicted of killing Israelis or serving life sentences in military prisons, according to two people familiar with the offer made by Israel to Egypt. . , who also mediates the conversations.

In a previous round of exchanges in November 2023, Israel freed hundreds of Palestinians for dozens of hostages.

Qatar, which had hosted Hamas’s political office, has been the main facilitator with the Palestinian militant group, along with Egypt.

While Qatar suspended its role as mediator in October, frustrated by the lack of commitment from the warring parties (some senior Hamas officials subsequently moved to Turkey), the diplomat said the next round of talks is expected to be held again. in the country.