U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met the families of Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday, telling them that Washington and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government are "working collectively" on a plan he says would end the Gaza war and bring home all remaining captives. According to accounts published by Haaretz and other Israeli outlets, Witkoff said Hamas has signalled willingness to disarm—an assertion the group immediately denied—and that both he and President Donald Trump are personally committed to a comprehensive agreement rather than "piecemeal deals." Roughly 50 Israelis are still held in Gaza, with the military believing about 20 remain alive. The envoy’s visit came a day after he toured a U.S.-backed aid distribution site in the enclave and asserted that Gaza faces "shortages, not starvation," comments that drew an angry response from Hamas, which called the trip a "staged theatrical act" meant to mask a deepening humanitarian crisis. Tensions escalated further after Hamas’s Qassam Brigades released a video showing Israeli soldier Evyatar David emaciated and digging what he said was his own grave. The footage fuelled emergency protests in Tel Aviv, where families accused the government of condemning their relatives to death and demanded an immediate cease-fire and prisoner swap. Israel’s military leadership maintains a hard line. Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir warned troops that if negotiations do not soon free the captives, "combat will continue without rest." Indirect talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar on a 60-day cease-fire collapsed last week. Civilian suffering on both sides continues to mount. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry puts the Palestinian death toll at more than 60,000 since October 2023, while Israeli figures record 1,219 deaths from the initial Hamas attack and 898 Israeli soldiers killed in subsequent fighting. Witkoff said a post-war reconstruction blueprint is being drafted, but Hamas reiterated it will not relinquish its "armed resistance" unless Israel agrees to a fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.