White House Prepares for Gaza Summit as Trump Pushes Hostage Release, Hamas Accountability

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News) – The White House is preparing to host a pivotal summit on Wednesday as President Donald Trump seeks to present a “comprehensive plan” for Gaza’s future, with his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff underscoring the administration’s insistence on full hostage freedom and Hamas accountability.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Witkoff revealed that Trump will chair a “large meeting” bringing together senior officials to discuss the “day after” in Gaza. He said the administration’s blueprint would be “robust” and “well-meaning,” reflecting what he called the president’s “humanitarian motives.”

“Hamas, 100 percent, bears responsibility for prolonging this war,” Witkoff said. “There has been a deal on the table for the last six or seven weeks that would have released 10 of the 20 hostages believed alive. Hamas slow-played that process and only now says it accepts. They are changing their tune because Israel is putting very intense pressure on them.”

Witkoff emphasized that the Trump administration, like Israel, opposes partial hostage arrangements. “There needs to be a deal. There needs to be hostages sent home,” he said. “At the same time, there would be Palestinian prisoners released. Hamas must also understand it can have nothing to do with Gaza’s government going forward. Those are terms of the Israelis, and they are terms of President Trump as well.”

The envoy stated that Washington is determined to resolve the crisis before the end of the year. He pointed to Israel’s $600 million in aid commitments for Gaza announced alongside its Gaza City operation as evidence that Jerusalem is signaling willingness to make accommodations — but only if Hamas reciprocates. “Hamas can begin by feeding the hostages, providing medical care, letting the Red Cross in. Do the humane thing,” Witkoff said. “The president is a humanitarian. That’s what he wants to see.”

Addressing concerns over civilian casualties, including Israel’s recent strike on Nasser Hospital, Witkoff said, “Anytime you have civilian deaths, it’s a tragedy. The president feels that. But it’s a war, and we’re trying to shut that war down. Hamas has held this region hostage for much too long, and it’s time for it to end.”

The White House meeting marks the first time the administration has publicly acknowledged work on a U.S. plan for Gaza’s postwar governance. It comes after months of debate over Trump’s February proposal to permanently relocate Gaza’s population — a vision welcomed in Israel but firmly rejected by Arab states that the U.S. had hoped would absorb Palestinian refugees.

Arab mediators, meanwhile, have tried to salvage a phased release proposal that Hamas finally accepted earlier this month. But Israel and Washington insist only a final deal securing the return of all hostages will be considered. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed ahead with plans for the Israel Defense Forces to take over Gaza City, calling it Hamas’s last stronghold. Critics warn the offensive could endanger the hostages and prolong the insurgency.

As Trump’s envoy summed up: “We believe we’re going to settle this one way or another — and sooner rather than later.”

Prophecy Insight: Hamas and Isaiah 60:18

Isaiah 60:18 paints a vision of Israel’s future:

“Violence (Hamas in Hebrew) shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”

Hamas’s terror campaign — marked by rockets, tunnels, and hostages — is the very embodiment of violence, waste, and destruction. Yet the prophet Isaiah foresaw a day when such sounds would be silenced forever in the Land of Israel.

The contrast is striking: today, Israel fortifies its borders with walls of defense against those who seek its destruction. But God promises a time when those walls will be renamed Salvation, and the gates that now guard against terror will instead resound with Praise.

Every attempt by Hamas to hold Israel hostage underscores the spiritual battle behind today’s conflict. But Isaiah assures that a day is coming when terror will be no more, and Israel will live in the fullness of God’s peace.

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