Trump Middle East envoy 'hopeful' for Gaza hostage release by January 20


Patrick deHahn
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US president-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy on Tuesday appeared to say a deal between Israel and Hamas over hostages held in Gaza was imminent, after reporting “a lot of progress” in negotiations.

Billionaire Steve Witkoff, who was named as Mr Trump's Middle East envoy in November, told reporters he was “really hopeful” that he and his team would “have some good things to announce” by Mr Trump's January 20 inauguration in Washington.

Israel and Hamas have been in talks in recent days over a possible hostage-detainee exchange amid continuing international deliberations to bring an end to the Gaza war.

About 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage during a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel's military believes 100 are still being held in Gaza. American citizens are among the hostages. About 45,000 people have died in Israel's onslaught against Gaza - the vast majority of them civilians.

“I think we're making a lot of progress, and I don't want to say too much, because I think they're doing a really good job back in Doha,” Mr Witkoff said about his recent talks in the region.

He said he will be travelling back to Doha within the next day. He has been to the region several times since he was appointed.

“We'll save some lives … I believe we've been on the verge of it,” Mr Witkoff said. “I think it's the president, his stature, what he said he expects, the red lines he's put out there that's driving this negotiation.”

Almost 45,900 people in Gaza have been killed amid Israeli military operations and a worsening humanitarian crisis that has pushed parts of the enclave to the brink of famine, local health authorities say.

Mr Trump told reporters that if the hostages were not released in the next two weeks before he enters the White House, “all hell will break out in the Middle East”.

“It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone.”

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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

 

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

 

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

 

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.

Updated: January 08, 2025, 3:47 AM