U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy told families of hostages being held by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the Gaza conflict.

Trump has made ending the conflict a major priority of his administration, though negotiations have faltered. Steve Witkoff is visiting Israel as its government faces mounting pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

In a recording of the meeting, Witkoff is heard saying: "We have a very, very good plan that we're working on collectively with the Israeli government, with Prime Minister Netanyahu ... for the reconstruction of Gaza. That effectively means the end of the war."

Witkoff also said that Hamas was prepared to disarm in order to end the war, though the group has repeatedly said it will not lay down its weapons.

In response, Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since 2007 but has been militarily battered by Israel in the war, said it would not relinquish "armed resistance" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" was established.

Witkoff, who arrived in Israel with Benjamin Netanyahu's government facing a global outcry over the devastation in Gaza and the starvation growing among its 2.2 million people, met the prime minister on Thursday.

Afterwards, a senior Israeli official said an understanding between Israel and Washington was emerging that there was a need to move from a plan to release some of the hostages to a plan to release all the hostages, disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip, echoing Israel's key demands for ending the war.

Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza conflict and the release of half the hostages ended in deadlock last week.

On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of it, they said Hamas must hand over its arms to the Palestinian Authority.

The crisis in Gaza has also prompted a string of Western powers to announce they may recognize a Palestinian state.

Gaza starvation

On Friday, Witkoff visited a U.S.-backed aid operation in southern Gaza, saying his aim was to deliver food and other assistance to those in need. However, the United Nations has criticized the U.S.-backed program, accusing it of not only obstructing UN humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza but also contributing to the deaths of more Palestinians.

Dozens have died of malnutrition in recent weeks after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May, according to Gaza's health ministry. It said on Saturday that it had recorded seven more fatalities, including a child, since Friday.

Since March, Israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip and resumed large-scale military operations. In late May, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, bypassed the UN agencies and unilaterally assumed control over the distribution of humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), wrote on Saturday that UNRWA has been completely barred from delivering aid to Gaza since March 2 – nearly five months. He added that the man-made famine in Gaza is largely the result of those ongoing restrictions.

Lazzarini criticized that the foundation has deliberately undermined the UN-led humanitarian coordination system, and it should be held responsible for the deaths of nearly 1,400 starving civilians.

"In total, since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of (U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)) sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys," UNRWA said in a statement.

In a refugee camp in central Gaza, 40-year-old Sami Sheh cradled her 11-month-old child as she described her experience at a distribution site run by the GHF.

"My baby is already malnourished. I waited for six hours under the blazing sun, under the watch of Israeli troops. The scene was chaotic – people were screaming, shoving, some even fainted. But in the end, I left with nothing."

Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, air drops, and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.

UN agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease the access to it.

The Gaza conflict began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, including over 18500 children, according to Gaza health officials.

According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

(With input from agencies)