By FARNOUSH AMIRI

President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was heading to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, a breakthrough that has eluded the administration for months as conditions worsen in Gaza.

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Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokesperson, told reporters Tuesday that Witkoff was going to the region with a “strong hope” that the U.S. can deliver a ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.

“I would suggest that we might have some good news, but, again, as we know, this could be a constantly changing dynamic,” Bruce said.

Bruce didn’t have other details about where Witkoff would be going or what he had planned. It comes as Gaza saw its deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war, with at least 85 Palestinians killed while trying to reach food Sunday.

The Israeli army has said it fired warning shots, but says the reported death toll was greatly inflated. The United Nations’ food agency accused Israeli forces of firing on the crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid.

Bruce said that the incident that took place while civilians were trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel is “absolutely horrible” and reinforced why the U.S. is pushing for a new humanitarian corridor to be created as part of any truce.

The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place.

The U.S. plan calls for a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release some hostages while Israel would free Palestinian prisoners and allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. During the 60 days, the sides are also to begin negotiations on a permanent end to the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas yields power and is disarmed, while Hamas says it will not release all of the hostages until the war is over. It is seeking assurances that Netanyahu will not resume the war after the 60 days, as he did in March after an early ceasefire expired.

Hamas is holding 50 hostages — 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.

Minnesota United sits in a prime position this summer and holds a great opportunity to improve its roster with the transfer window opening this week.

Will the Loons take full advantage of it?

With 10 regular-season games to go, MNUFC has risen to third place in the Western Conference and would have home-field advantage if the MLS Cup Playoffs were to start tomorrow. United has advanced to semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup in September, and the Leagues Cup between MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX that starts next week.

Across nine MLS seasons, the Loons haven’t been this close to trophy since the Open Cup final in 2019 and an appearance in the West final in 2020.

On July 4, Apple TV commentators Neil Sika and Lloyd Sam whet fans’ appetites during the win over FC Dallas. In the first half, they shared a nugget on how MNUFC might approach the transfer window.

“You asked (Loons coach) Eric Ramsay how many signings they are expecting, and I couldn’t believe his answer,” Sam said.

“He said four,” Sika replied.

“Four signings,” Sam said. “Immediately what I think is who loses their place in the side because I don’t see much space for players who have performed pretty well this season.”

The Pioneer Press has learned it might end up end up being closer to two new players by the time the window closes Aug. 21.

For how consistently strong the Loons have been this season, there is a clear position of need: midfield.

United is dead last in possession (38.9%) in MLS, more than four points lower than any other club. An inability to control the ball late in games has been a stress test for its defense to close out results, and lately Minnesota has been buckling under the added weight. The latest example came Saturday, when the Loons allowed a stoppage-time equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Portland.

To improve this summer, Loons Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad has a lot of roster flexibility to make bigger deals happen.

Minnesota United defender Anthony Markanich (13) runs during the second half of an MLS soccer match against CF Montreal in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

United opted to go with the roster-building model of two Designated Players and four Under-22 Initiative spots. Among those six total spots, the club could have up to three vacancies this summer.

Both DP spots are currently filled, but the Loons can open up one slot if the club decides to buy down attacking midfielder’s Joaquin Pereyra’s contract. The club’s willingness to do so remains unclear.

With the trade of Sang Bin Jeong to St. Louis City becoming official on Monday, MNUFC now has two vacant U22 spots. Nico Romero and Owen Gene, signed last winter, occupy the other two spots. Gene helps out at midfield but has not raised the Loons’ ceiling.

Minnesota has approximately $3.8 million in General Allocation Money — one of the highest sums around the league. And the club has not taken more expensive swings on players, with one of the lowest payrolls in MLS,  26th out of 30 teams. Plus, Joeng’s trade to St. Louis added $1.6 million to the Loons’ coffers.

The Loons also have cleared at least one international roster spot with rookie Dutch goalkeeper Wessel Speel headed on loan to Irish side Sherbourne FC.

Kelvin Yeboah #9 of Minnesota United celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal of the match in the first half against the New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium on June 28, 2025 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Getty Images)

Since joining Minnesota before the 2024 season, El-Ahmad has had more hits than misses in his two full windows in charge. Kelvin Yeboah, a DP, has 14 MLS goals across 32 matches. Pereyra started slow last season but has acclimated to MLS and has been a vital playmaker in 2024 with six primary assists and two goals. Both were brought in for less than $3 million.

Romero has climbed into a starting role in one of the stingiest defenses in the league, and Anthony Markanich was a deadline-day steal from St. Louis. The left wingback has been a surprising scorer this season with six goals in MLS.

The front office should feel an increased need to be aggressive this summer with a trio of key players down its spine now a year older — captain center back Michael Boxall is a first-time MLS All-Star at 36, while midfielders Wil Trapp and Robin Lod are both 32. Plus, MLS All-Star goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair is out of contract at the end of the year and seems poised to test free agency.

If the Loons don’t bring in more than two new players, they also appear unlikely to be losing two key players — wingback Joseph Rosales and forward Tani Oluwaweyi — despite proposals from other clubs.

“We really want to make sure that we do everything we can to keep the core of the group together and keep moving forward because we’re in a good place,” Ramsay said Saturday.

Ramsay’s success as the youngest coach in MLS has garnered interest from clubs back home in the U.K. He has passed on the overtures so far and will remain with MNUFC for the near future, but if the club doesn’t address its primary weakness, Ramsay would be more likely to exit without a trophy.

The clock is ticking.

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There was an almost childlike excitement from general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell on Tuesday afternoon at TCO Performance Center as they set the stage for the Vikings to start training camp.

The humbling loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs is in the rearview mirror, as are the feelings of failure attached to it.

Instead, the Vikings get to operate with overwhelming optimism, at least for the time being, after spending more than $300 million in free agency to address all of the weaknesses the Rams helped reveal.

“We’ve spent this offseason focusing on building the idea of the 2025 Vikings,” Adofo-Mensah said. “This is the time to really build the reality of what this team is going to be.”

What exactly does Adofo-Mensah want that to look like? He described it by saying he wants the Vikings to be able to show up to a fight, not necessarily knowing what the fight is going to be like, and leave as the last man standing.

“When it’s single elimination in the playoffs, we might have to play a certain type of game,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We wanted to build the type of team that’s versatile and can win in different ways and we think we’ve done that.”

There’s a big difference between thinking and knowing, however, and whether the Vikings have accomplished that goal won’t be known until they either make or miss the playoffs at the end of the regular season.

In the meantime, O’Connell is trying to get this particular group to focus on the journey rather than the destination, believing that if they lean into the work every, then everything else will take care of itself.

“How do we do that?” O’Connell said. “We have a good training camp.”

Though there are storylines aplenty for the Vikings as they prepare to return to the field, the maturation of young quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be chief among them as he steps into the spotlight as the new face of the franchise.

Not that O’Connell seems to worried about how McCarthy will handle the pressure.

“We feel like we’ve built a team with leadership on both sides of the ball, and with experience on both sides of the ball, all designed to help him be comfortable in his role,” O’Connell said. “You feel the energy and the enthusiasm that J.J. has brought to the group and that they’re reciprocating right back to him.”

That should serve as a good starting point for the Vikings as they set their sights on that elusive Lombardi Trophy.

Never mind that neither Adofo-Mensah nor O’Connell directly referenced the Super Bowl ahead of training camp. It’s pretty clear that everybody associated with the Vikings is moving forward with that at the forefront of their mind.

“It’s time for us to acknowledge what we’re actually trying build here,” O’Connell said. “We’ve got to put in a lot of work to feel totally worthy in those moments to get to where we want to get to.”

Briefly

The only players starting training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list are tight end Gavin Bartholomew and edge rusher Chaz Chambliss. The fact that left tackle Christian Darrisaw was not placed on the PUP list speaks to his progress as he continues to work his way back from torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee.

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Both directions of Interstate 494 in Inver Grove Heights will be closed between Blaine Avenue and Babcock Trail this weekend, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Starting at 10 p.m. Friday, the stretch of freeway will shut down so crews can begin demolition work on the northbound U.S. 52 bridge. Along with the freeway closure, all Highway 52 clover-leaf ramps to I-494 will shut down.

The detour for motorists going westbound on I-494 will be northbound U.S. 52 to Mendota Road to southbound U.S. 52 to westbound I-494.

Motorists going eastbound on I-494 will be detoured to southbound Highway 52 to eastbound 70th Street to northbound U.S. 52 to eastbound I-494.

The freeway is scheduled to reopen at 5 a.m. Monday.

The eastbound I-494 to northbound Highway 52 and northbound U.S. 52 to westbound I-494 ramps will remain closed through September.

More information about the project can be found at mndot.gov/metro/projects/hwy52invergroveheights.

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