By Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi
JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday amid a push to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu’s office said.
After the meeting, Netanyahu dispatched a high-level delegation which included the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency to Qatar in order to “advance” talks to return hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli official said some progress had been made in the indirect talks between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, to reach a deal in Gaza.
The mediators are making renewed efforts to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the enclave and free the remaining Israeli hostages held there before Trump takes office on Jan. 20. A deal would also…
