America's top hostage negotiator travels to Israel
The United States' Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, often referred to as the country's top hostage negotiator, will travel to Israel on Wednesday, according to a senior official in the U.S. Department of State.
The official said that Carstens "will support Secretary Blinken's visit to the region, meet with Israeli government counterparts and visit the families of Americans held hostage in Gaza."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel on Wednesday night.
It will be Carstens' first known trip to Israel since Oct. 7, when Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel and took hundreds of people hostage back to the neighboring Gaza Strip. Carsten's deputy, Steven Gillen, visited Israel shortly after the war broke out and has spent a substantial amount time in the region during the weeks that followed, largely coordinating with Israeli officials on efforts to free the hostages.
Earlier this month, Carstens met with family members of some of the hostages in Washington, D.C.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Morgan Winsor