As the world waits for Russia’s next move over the US-proposed ceasefire deal with Ukraine, only one man has been trusted to head up Donald Trump’s envoy to Moscow – and he’s far from the typical diplomat.
Initially named as Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy shortly after the US election, Steve Witkoff has since been involved in negotiations with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine.
His surprise trip to Moscow last month to achieve the release of US citizen Marc Fogel seemed to secure the 67-year-old as the US leader’s geopolitical dealmaker-in-chief.
Off the back of his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Witkoff is believed to be seeing him again later this week to discuss diplomatic proposals – though the Kremlin is yet to confirm this.
He has been chosen to go to Moscow by Mr Trump over US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who on paper is the country’s top diplomat, and Keith Kellogg, who was assigned to be the US envoy for Russia-Ukraine peace talks back in January.
So who is Steve Witkoff, and how important a figure will he be as the US tries to navigate peace between Russia and Ukraine?
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‘Trump is listening intently’ to European leaders
From New York real estate to the Oval Office
Born in the Bronx, New York State, Mr Witkoff trained as a lawyer in real estate before turning his hand to property development.
In the 1990s he created his company, the Witkoff Group, which owns a number of properties in New York, most notably the Park Lane Hotel and The Woolworth Building.
Similarly to Mr Trump, he brought his close family members into his company, including his wife, Lauren Rappoport, and their sons Zach and Alexander, who is co-chief executive.
As of 2019, the Witkoff Group owned almost 50 properties across the US and the rest of the world.
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‘If Russia says no, it will tell us a lot’
‘My dear friend President Trump’
The billionaire has known Mr Trump for decades, having first met him through a New York real estate company where the now president was a client.
Having remained close, the pair bonded over their mutual love of golf, and weredescribed by US senator Lindsey Graham as “longtime golf buddies”.
Mr Witkoff was one of those on the fifth hole with the president at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September last year, when a second apparent assassination attempt was made on his life.
Image: Mr Trump and Mr Witkoff back in 2018. Pic: AP
But despite being regular opponents on the course, Mr Witkoff and Mr Trump are very much aligned in politics, with the businessman having donated to the Republican Party during the 2024 election.
He even spoke at the Republican National Convention back in July last year, where he said he had the “privilege” of calling Mr Trump a “true and dear friend for many years, in good times and bad times”.
Mr Witkoff also firmly backed Mr Trump’s foreign policy, saying at the inauguration parade: “We are done carrying the financial burden of nations that are unwilling to fund their own progress.
“The days of blank checks are over”.
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During Mr Trump’s first term in office, Mr Witkoff played a more minor role, serving as one of the president’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups – which aimed to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was over lunch with Mr Trump after his second election win that Mr Witkoff reportedly broached the idea of working on the Middle East – a region he has extensive business ties with, according to NBC.
“That stunned me because I didn’t know he was that interested in the Middle East,” Senator Graham told NBC back in January, while discussing Mr Witkoff’s appointment.
“And Trump looked at me and said: ‘Well, a million people have tried. Let’s pick a nice guy who’s a smart guy’.”
Image: Mr Trump and Mr Witkoff speaking in January. Pic: AP
Since the beginning of the year, Mr Witkoff has proven to be a critical player in negotiations between Israel and Hamas – helping to secure January’s ceasefire deal which has so far seen the release of some of the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
One person familiar with the negotiations described Mr Witkoff to NBC as someone who is “very much engaged” with “his heart is in the right place”.
A Middle Eastern diplomat, who spoke with NBC on condition of anonymity at the time, added that the businessman was a tough negotiator but was also able to “empathise” with parents who have lost their children on both sides of the conflict, as he openly spoke about his son Andrew, who died of an OxyContin overdose in 2011 aged 22.
Image: US delegation – featuring Mr Witkoff – meets with Saudi and Russian officials. Pic: Reuters
Growing criticism
Despite praise for Mr Witkoff’s approach to geopolitics, there is also growing criticism against him.
Shortly after his visit to Gaza back in January, he backed Mr Trump’s surprise announcement that the US wanted to “develop” the region and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Mr Trump suggested that Gaza’s two million people would not return to their territory under the plans, which has been widely criticised as amounting to ethnic cleansing.
Image: Mr Witkoff said he had developed a ‘friendship’ with Vladimir Putin
Mr Witkoff also faces questions over his first private meeting with President Putin last month, in which he said he had developed a “friendship”with the Russian leader.
Speaking about his relationship with Mr Putin, he said: “I spent a lot of time with Putin. Talking and developing a friendship and relationship with him…”
He claimed their conversation lasted over three hours.
However, the details of the conversation and what was discussed have never been released, with only translators present at the time.
More than 800 people have been killed and at least 2,800 others injured after an earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan, according to Taliban state officials.
The quake hit the country’s rugged northeastern province of Kunar, near the Pakistan border, at roughly midnight on Sunday, destroying several villages, officials said.
Rescuers are continuing to work in several districts of the mountainous province where the quake hit, while officials in the capital city of Kabul have warned the number of casualties could rise.
A 6.0 quake hit Kunar at around 11.47pm local time (8.17pm UK time) on Sunday.
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The quake’s epicentre was near Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, at a depth of 8.7 miles (14km). Jalalabad is situated about 74 miles (119km) from Kabul. It is considered a remote and mountainous area.
Image: The large red circle shows the earthquake near Kabul. Pic: German Research Centre for Geosciences
A second earthquake struck in the same province about 20 minutes later, with a magnitude of 4.5 and a depth of 6.2 miles (10km). This was later followed by a 5.2 earthquake at the same depth.
Homes of mud and stone were levelled by the quake, with deaths and injuries reported in the districts of Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi and Chapadare, according to the Kunar Disaster Management Authority.
The first quake hit 17 miles east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said. Jalalabad is a bustling trade city due to its proximity to a key border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Image: Afghanistan earthquake map
It has a population of around 300,000 people, according to the municipality, but its metropolitan area is believed to be much larger.
Most of its buildings are low-rise constructions predominantly made from concrete and brick, though its outer areas include homes built of mud bricks and wood.
What have officials said so far?
Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s ministry of public health, said: “Rescue operations are still underway there, and several villages have been completely destroyed.
“The figures for martyrs and injured are changing.
“Medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar and the capital Kabul have arrived in the area.”
He said many areas have not been able to report casualty figures and that “numbers were expected to change” as deaths and injuries are reported.
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More details on the aftermath in Afghanistan
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said: “Sadly, tonight’s earthquake has caused loss of life and property damage in some of our eastern provinces.
“Local officials and residents are currently engaged in rescue efforts for the affected people. Support teams from the centre and nearby provinces are also on their way.”
According to earlier reports, 30 people were killed in a single village, the health ministry said.
“The number of casualties and injuries is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on site,” said health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman.
The Afghan Red Crescent said its officials and medical teams “rushed to the affected areas and are currently providing emergency assistance to impacted families”.
Quake measures slightly lower than the country’s deadliest disaster
Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
The country is also one of the world’s poorest, having suffered decades of conflict, with poor infrastructure leaving it particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.
Image: Strong earthquake in eastern Afghanistan near Pakistan border kills hundreds. Pic: AP
Image: People carry an earthquake victim on a stretcher to an ambulance at an airport in Jalalabad. Pic: Reuters
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake and strong aftershocks struck Afghanistan on 7 October 2023.
The country’s Taliban government said at least 4,000 people had been killed, but the United Nations said the death toll was around 1,500.
The 2023 earthquake is considered the deadliest natural disaster to hit Afghanistan in recent memory.
A series of other earthquakes in the country’s west killed more than 1,000 people last year.
Disaster adds to ‘multiplicity of crises’ for Afghanistan
The earthquake is a “perfect storm” in a country that is already suffering a “multiplicity of crises,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has told Sky News.
Filippo Grandi said the situation in the country was “very tragic” and added: “We have very little information as of yet, but already, reports of hundreds of people killed and many more made homeless.”
“That’s a country that is already suffering from a multiplicity of crises.”
He said Afghanistan is suffering from a “big drought”, while Iran has “sent back almost 2 million people” and Pakistan “threatens to do the same”.
Image: Ambulances prepare to receive victims of an earthquake. Pic: Nangarhar Media Centre/AP
“It’s extremely difficult to mobilise resources because of the Taliban. So it’s a perfect storm,” he added.
“And this earthquake, likely to have been quite devastating, is going to just add to the misery.”
He appealed to “all those who can help to please do that”.
A foreign office spokesperson for the Afghanistan government said no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work so far.
At least 43 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Saturday, according to local hospitals, as the Israeli offensive on Gaza City intensifies.
Most of the casualties were reported in Gaza City. Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, said 29 bodies had been brought to its morgue, including 10 people killed while seeking aid and others struck across the city.
Al-Awda Hospital said on Sunday morning that 11 more people were killed in strikes and gunfire, seven of whom were civilians trying to get aid. Witnesses said Israeli troops shot at crowds in the Netzarim Corridor, which is an Israeli military zone cutting Gaza in half.
Ragheb Abu Lebda, from Nuseirat, said the area is a “death trap” after he saw at least three people bleeding from gunshot wounds.
Image: A Palestinian girl walks past a heavily damaged building in Gaza City, a day after an Israeli strike hit it. Pic: AP/Jehad Alshrafi
The Netzarim Corridor has become increasingly dangerous, with civilians seeking aid being killed while approaching United Nations (UN) convoys, which have been overwhelmed by desperate crowds and looters.
Others have been shot en route to aid sites run by the controversial Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Neither the foundation nor the Israeli military responded to questions about the seven reported casualties among people seeking aid on Sunday.
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Image: Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in a strike on a tent at Al-Shifa Hospital. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday that the spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, Abu Obeida, was killed in Gaza over the weekend after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said his forces had attacked the spokesman without confirming whether he had died.
Hamas has not commented on the claim that Mr Obeida has been killed.
It comes after Israel announced the initial stages of its Gaza City offensive on Friday, following weeks of operations on the outskirts of the city and the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Image: Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations in northern Gaza. Pic: AP/Leo Correa
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have since intensified its air attacks in the coastal areas of the city.
The military has urged hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in Gaza City to flee, but only tens of thousands have followed through, as many say they are not convinced it is safer elsewhere, or they are too exhausted after repeated displacements.
About 65,000 Palestinians have fled their home this month alone, including 23,199 in the past week, according to the UN.
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A local resident said ‘our choice is to face certain death or to leave and end up on the streets without shelter’.
Many are living in temporary shelters after they were displaced multiple times.
The UN says more than 90% of the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced at least once since the start of the war on 7 October 2023.
Palestinians have accused Israel of forcing displacements after it signalled that aid to Gaza City would be cut.
Image: A Palestinian child waits to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
Malnutrition in Gaza is rife, with part of the Strip suffering from famine, according to a global hunger monitor.
Seven adults died of causes related to malnutrition and starvation over the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll from malnutrition-related causes in adults to 215 since late June, the Gaza health ministry said.
The ministry said 63,371 Palestinians have died since the start of the war in October 2023, including 124 children who have died of malnutrition-related causes.
This comes as Greta Thunberg and other activists have embarked on a second aid flotilla to Gaza on Sunday, despite having been detained by Israeli forces and deported when they approached on a British-flagged yacht in June.
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New flotilla of aid into Gaza
Thunberg, who is among hundreds of people from 44 countries on the flotilla, hopes their mission will bring symbolic aid and help open up a humanitarian corridor to deliver more aid.
She said the activists’ goal is to send “hope and solidarity to the people of Gaza, showing a clear signal that the world has not forgotten about you”.
Sunday’s raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown against the UN and other international organisations working in rebel-held areas of Yemen.
The offices of the UN’s food, health and children’s agencies were raided on Sunday, according to officials.
Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for UNICEF, said a number of the agency’s staffers were detained, and the agency was seeking more information from the Houthis.
Media reports have suggested that 11 UN workers were detained.
The Houthis have controlled much of northwestern Yemen since 2014 after forcing out the internationally recognised government and starting a civil war.
They are backed by Iran and have conducted repeated strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Israel.
Image: Ahmed al Rahawi was killed in an Israeli strike. File pic: Reuters
Sunday’s events come after rebel prime minister Ahmed al Rahawi and a number of other ministers were killed on Thursday, according to the Houthis.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Friday it had “carried out a significant strike against strategic targets of the Houthi terror regime in Yemen”.