According to the publication, Witkoff, a key negotiator in achieving a truce in the Gaza Strip, allegedly wants to focus on business after a busy schedule.
The media speculated that Witkoff's departure could raise questions about how involved the US will be in the next stages of the US peace plan for Gaza, which, among other things, includes disarmament of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, reconstruction of the strip and the installation of a Palestinian technocratic government.
The White House denied this information.
On October 15, Witkoff himself called the publication “100 percent fake” on the social network X, which should be “immediately refuted.”
“I often wonder where these so-called journalists get their ridiculous stories from. I am more involved in the peace process than ever before and continue to proudly serve the President of the United States,” Witkoff explained.
This story is 100% Fake News and should be immediately retracted. I often wonder where these so-called “reporters” come up with such laughable nonsense. I'm more on the grind, not yet, and I continue to proudly serve the President of the United States! pic.twitter.com/GbJ0HtvZea
— Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) October 15, 2025
Context
On October 12, Trump announced that the war in the Gaza Strip was over. The media wrote that a personal meeting between Witkoff, as well as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, with the leaders of the terrorist organization Hamas on October 8 helped to conclude a deal on the Gaza Strip. On October 13, Hamas militants handed over the 20 surviving Israeli hostages to the Red Cross.
Witkoff also serves as Trump’s unofficial special envoy on issues of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. However, as Reuters wrote, US diplomatic efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine degenerated into chaos after a meeting with the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. On August 6, Witkoff reported that he was allegedly ready to make significant concessions. The next day, Witkoff made it clear that Putin was ready to withdraw troops from the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in exchange for Kyiv ceding the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. This proposal shocked many, but Witkoff subsequently appeared to change his testimony.
Some American and Ukrainian officials believe Witkoff's incompetence only harms diplomacy and efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine, Politico noted on August 29.
