Gaza's Future: U. S. Envoys in Israel for Critical Talks

High-level U. S. representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, visited Israel recently. They had important discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The main topic? Gaza's future. The U. S. has big plans for Gaza. They want to rebuild it completely. Think tall buildings, tech hubs, and beach resorts. This is part of President Donald Trump's effort to stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas. But the fighting keeps happening. The Israeli government hasn't said anything about these meetings yet. Meanwhile, Ali Shaath, who leads a U. S. -backed Palestinian group, said the Rafah border crossing will open soon. This crossing is the only way in or out of Gaza for most of its 2 million residents.Israel wants to control how many people come and go through Rafah. They want more people to leave than enter. This crossing was supposed to open earlier, under a ceasefire deal from October. But it didn't happen. Since October 7, 2023, over 71, 000 people have died in Gaza. Since the ceasefire in October, 481 more have died. The U. S. says the plan is now in its second phase. Israel should pull back its troops. Hamas should give up control of Gaza. The Gaza side of the border has been under Israeli control since 2024. Trump also warned Iran. He said the U. S. has a military fleet ready. But he hopes he won't need to use it. He told Iran not to hurt protesters or restart its nuclear program.