Tel Aviv / PNN /

 Israeli political sources have expressed growing concern over what they described as a “worrying rapprochement” between U.S. envoy Witkoff and the leadership of Hamas, following reports of a possible upcoming meeting between him and Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of the movement’s political bureau in Gaza.

According to the sources, Tel Aviv is closely monitoring the U.S. envoy’s regional contacts, noting that the apparent alignment in positions, as seen in recent talks, could place Israel under additional political and diplomatic pressure regarding the ceasefire and reconstruction process, according to the Israeli news site Walla.

This concern follows a report by The New York Times on Friday about the expected meeting between Witkoff and al-Hayya, which is set to discuss the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

In this context, Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Saturday that “Washington is pushing for implementation of the next phase of the Gaza war-ending agreement according to Trump’s plan.”

The channel also highlighted significant disagreements between Israel and the United States on how to proceed with implementing the agreement.

CNN cited an Israeli source saying that the Americans want to move forward with the next phase and close the file on Hamas fighters in Rafah.