12.10.2025 00:15
After the ceasefire was established in Gaza, U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, faced a strong backlash in Tel Aviv. As soon as Witkoff mentioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's name, he was booed by a crowd gathered at the call of the relatives of Israeli captives. Witkoff, who appeared to be in great shock, was seen struggling to speak.
After the ceasefire was established in Gaza, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Representative for the Middle East, who came to Israel, attended a demonstration organized by the relatives of Israeli captives in a square called "Captives Square" in Tel Aviv.
HIS SPEECH WAS FREQUENTLY INTERRUPTED BY APPLAUSE
Addressing the Israelis, Witkoff was unable to start his speech for a long time due to applause. Witkoff, who said, "I wish the President (U.S. President Trump) were here," had his speech frequently interrupted by applause from the crowd.
A STORM ERUPTED AS SOON AS HE MENTIONED NETANYAHU'S NAME
When Witkoff mentioned Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Israelis in the square booed. Each time Netanyahu's name was mentioned, the crowd reacted by chanting the Hebrew slogan "shame, shame, shame," which is often used in protests against Netanyahu. As the crowd's reaction continued, Witkoff stated, "I don't know how you think," suggesting that Netanyahu contributed to the process.
THE GLANCE BETWEEN TRUMP'S DAUGHTER AND SON-IN-LAW CAUGHT ATTENTION
The smile exchanged between Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who were behind Witkoff on stage, drew attention.
WITKOFF THANKED PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN
During his speech, Witkoff also thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Highlighting the efforts of countries that mediated in reaching an agreement along with the U.S., Witkoff said, "We thank Turkish President Erdoğan, Sheikh Mohammed from Qatar, the Emir of Qatar, and Egyptian President Sisi."
HE POINTED OUT THE PAIN IN GAZA
Then, the words of Trump's son-in-law and former advisor Jared Kushner, who took the stage, were also frequently interrupted by applause. Kushner congratulated the Israeli soldiers, claiming that it was thanks to them that they had come this far. The Israelis greeted Kushner's words with enthusiastic applause. However, only a small portion of the crowd applauded Kushner's statement, "The people in Gaza have also suffered greatly during this process."
CEASEFIRE AND PRISONER EXCHANGE AGREEMENT IN GAZA
On October 9, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that during ongoing negotiations in Egypt, Israel and Hamas had approved the first phase of a ceasefire plan in Gaza. The agreement was signed in Egypt, where the negotiations took place, and came into effect on October 10 with the approval of the Israeli government.
It was announced that after the Israeli army withdrew to the "yellow line" as specified in the agreement, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip came into effect at 12:00 on the same day.
During the period from October 8, 2023, until the ceasefire agreement, 67,682 people lost their lives, and 170,033 people were injured in the attacks carried out by Israel on the Gaza Strip.