Blair joins Trump in White House talks on Gaza’s future

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair joined US President Donald Trump at the White House for talks on plans for Gaza after the ongoing war, the BBC has confirmed.

The meeting comes at a time of intensified fighting in Gaza City, where Israeli forces continue to advance, and amid growing alarm from international organisations over a worsening humanitarian crisis.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington was working on “a very comprehensive” plan for “the next day” after the conflict.

He told Fox News the war could end within four months, adding: “We're going to settle this one way or another, certainly before the end of this year.”

Witkoff said the plan would reflect Trump’s “humanitarian motives” and was designed to show how robust and well-meaning the US strategy would be.

The White House said Trump wanted the war to end and wanted “peace and prosperity for everyone in the region.” No details of the proposals have been released.

However, in February, Trump suggested relocating Gaza’s population to neighbouring countries and turning the territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” Axios reported that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting.

Blair, who served as Middle East envoy after leaving office in 2007, focused during his time on Palestinian economic development and conditions for a two-state solution.

But when asked on Wednesday about the possibility of a Palestinian state, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar replied there would not be any.

On the ground, witnesses said Israeli tanks entered Gaza City’s northern Ibad al-Rahman district on Tuesday night, destroying homes and forcing more residents to flee.

“All of a sudden, we heard that the tanks pushed into Ibad al-Rahman, the sounds of explosions became louder and louder, and we saw people escaping towards our area,” Saad Abed said in a message from his home in Jala Street.

The tanks later pulled back to Jabalia, further north, but bombardments continued in Shejaiya, Zeitoun and Sabra districts.

The Israeli military said its troops had engaged in combat in Jabalia, destroyed a “terrorist cell” and found a weapons storage facility.

Its Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X that “evacuating Gaza City is inevitable” and urged residents to move south, saying there was “empty space” and families would receive “the most generous humanitarian aid.”

Aid agencies have strongly warned against mass evacuation.

The UN and non-governmental groups said moving hundreds of thousands of people south was “a recipe for further disaster and could amount to forcible transfer.” They stressed that southern Gaza was already overcrowded and unable to sustain people at scale.

Last week, a UN-backed food security body declared famine in Gaza City.

On Wednesday, all members of the UN Security Council except the US called the crisis “man-made” and urged Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. They also reminded Israel that the use of starvation as a weapon is banned under international law.

Israel insists its military offensive is necessary to defeat Hamas, which launched the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 hostages being taken.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to conquer the entire Gaza Strip after ceasefire talks collapsed.

But he faces mounting pressure at home and abroad. Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, demanding a deal to free the remaining Israeli hostages.

Israel has so far rejected a proposal for a 60-day truce and the release of about half of them, saying it will only accept a comprehensive agreement that secures all hostages and ends the war on its terms.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, almost 62,900 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

Most of the territory’s population has been displaced multiple times, more than 90% of homes have been damaged or destroyed, and basic services, including health, water and sanitation, have collapsed.