U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said Wednesday he was “confident” progress could be made in the coming days toward ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza, pointing to a new 21-point peace plan presented by President Donald Trump to Arab and Islamic leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

“We presented what we call the Trump 21-point plan for peace in the Mideast and Gaza,” Witkoff told the Concordia summit in New York. “I think it addresses Israeli concerns as well as the concerns of all the neighbors in the region. We’re hopeful, and I might say even confident, that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough.”

The plan was introduced Tuesday in a multilateral meeting with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan. A joint statement from those governments said the participants reiterated their commitment to work with Trump and emphasized “the importance of his leadership to end the war.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, who also met with Trump, said he expected the proposal to incorporate elements of his own plan, which calls for the dismantling of Hamas and the creation of an international force to stabilize Gaza. “If we can align everyone — the United States, the Arabs, the Europeans — around this peace plan, we can have a result,” Macron said in an interview with France 24 and Radio France Internationale.

At the same time, Macron underscored his government’s recognition of a Palestinian state earlier this week — an initiative opposed by both Israel and Trump. He added that Trump assured him the United States and Europe were aligned in opposing unilateral Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

The remarks came as the war entered its 720th day. Forty-seven Israelis remain captive in Gaza, alongside the body of an Israeli soldier killed in 2014.

Details of Trump’s plan remain under wraps, but Israel’s Channel 12 reported that senior officials in Jerusalem view the initiative as a potential framework for “the day after” in Gaza, shaped in coordination with moderate Arab states.

Those officials said they did not believe the U.S. would “force a proposal on Israel it doesn’t believe in.”

According to the report, the White House hopes to leverage regional governments to fund reconstruction and civilian infrastructure in Gaza once hostilities subside.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday. Ahead of his trip to New York, Netanyahu reportedly told ministers that any Israeli moves — including possible annexation in the West Bank — would need Trump’s approval.

A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel earlier this week that the administration had privately cautioned against annexation but publicly framed Western recognition of a Palestinian state as the trigger for Jerusalem’s consideration of the move.

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