WASHINGTON 

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, announced plans Wednesday to travel to the region to join an inspection team monitoring ceasefire compliance in and around the Gaza Strip.

Witkoff told Fox News he would be part of oversight efforts at two key locations -- the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors -- to ensure adherence to the truce that took effect Sunday. The team’s role is to verify that those entering the areas are not armed and pose no threat.

"The implementation of (the ceasefire) is probably more difficult than the execution of the deal," Witkoff said. "We had to get it done, and we did, thank God. And now we’ve got to implement."

Witkoff expressed optimism about broader Middle East normalization with Israel, pointing to Qatar as a critical player in securing the ceasefire deal.

"I think you could get everybody on board in that region,” he said. “I think there’s a new sense of leadership over there.”

The start of the first six weeks of phase one of the ceasefire agreement took effect Jan. 19 that suspended the Israeli war on the Palestinian enclave.

The three-phase agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Israel has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack by Hamas, which killed nearly 1,200 people, according to Israel.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.