Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy has already held talks 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, Financial Times reports.

Steven Witkoff, the New York real estate investor Trump has tapped as his envoy for the region, last month held talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, two people familiar with the talks told FT.

A day later on November 23, he flew to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a diplomat briefed on the discussions said.

One diplomat briefed on the talks said Witkoff was pushing for a ceasefire “before Trump’s inauguration so that once the Trump administration takes office it can move on to other issues, like stabilising the region after a year filled with war and instability”.

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