In 1st, US holding secret direct talks with Hamas to free American hostages, end war
Trump’s envoy talking directly to terror group in Qatar, despite US’s designation of Hamas as terror group; US consulted Israel on idea, but not all aspects of talks
President Donald Trump’s administration is holding direct talks with Hamas, aimed at securing the release of American hostages held in the Gaza Strip as well as a broader deal to end the war, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Wednesday, confirming a report by Axios.
The secret talks being held by Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler are unprecedented, as the US has never before engaged directly with Hamas, which Washington designated as a terror group in 1997.
The talks have been taking place in Doha in recent weeks, Axios said, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations, and adding that no deal has been reached.
In January, senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said publicly that the terror group is prepared to open a dialogue with the Trump administration.
While the US consulted with Israel about the possibility of engaging in talks with Hamas, Israel only learned about specific aspects through other channels, Axios reported.
There is one remaining American hostage in Gaza — Edan Alexander — who is believed to still be alive. Hamas is also holding the bodies of American-Israeli hostages Itay Chen, Gad Haggai, Judi Weinstein and Omer Neutra.
The Trump administration’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was planning to meet with Qatar’s prime minister in Doha later this week, but has held off on doing so due to the lack of progress in the hostage talks more broadly, Axios also reported.
Israeli envoy says talks ‘more than welcome’
The Prime Minister’s Office and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Israel’s Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis, however, welcomed the report, telling Fox News: “There is a new attitude from the White House… against Hamas. They can talk with Hamas, that’s okay.”
“President Trump actually changed the whole idea. Instead of putting Israel under pressure, President Trump is putting Hamas under pressure, and this is the right thing to do,” Akunis said.
“If the White House wants to talk directly to Hamas and put them under pressure to release more hostages, we will be very happy to see more hostages with our families,” he adds, calling “a direct negotiation with Hamas… more than welcome.”
Israel has been at war with Hamas since October 7, 2023, when some 5,000 Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
A hostage-ceasefire agreement, reached in January, saw the release of 30 living hostages and the remains of eight more, as Israel released almost 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners and detainees, with fighting stopped in the Strip.
The deal’s first phase expired on Saturday, without continuing to a second phase, which would have seen the return of the rest of the living hostages, and ultimately the remaining bodies as well, in exchange for a permanent end to the war.
Fighting has not resumed, but Israel has halted the flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip, and has maintained a troop presence in the buffer zone along Gaza’s borders, including along the Gaza-Egypt border from which it had been set to withdraw.
Israeli leaders have said they are willing to resume the flow of aid and extend the ceasefire but have demanded the release of more hostages for that to happen.
The Trump administration has repeatedly called for the return of all the hostages and the end of Hamas rule in Gaza. The president himself has insisted on an American takeover of the enclave and the forced resettlement of its 2.2 million residents elsewhere.
An Arab plan, presented this week as an alternative to Trump’s proposal, calls for the rebuilding of Gaza without the permanent displacement of its residents, but largely sidelines the matter of Hamas’s long-term status in the Strip. PJC
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