Witkoff, a real estate investor and Trump campaign donor with business ties to Qatar and other Gulf states, was in the region to oversee implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Steve Witkoff helped negotiate the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. His visit to Gaza pn Wednesday was the first by a senior U.S. official in more than a decade.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza over the last 15 months has destroyed much of the infrastructure in the enclave, and an overwhelming majority of Palestinians living in Gaza have been displaced from their homes,

White House envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios in an interview at the end of his trip to the Middle East that rebuilding Gaza could take between 10 and 15 years. Why it matters: The Trump administration wants to see the ceasefire continue and Gaza stabilized so it can move forward with its ambitious plans for the Middle East,