The White House has confirmed that U.S. officials are holding talks with Hamas representatives in an effort to negotiate an end to the Gaza war.
Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s hostage envoy, who is Jewish, met with Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar, in recent weeks, according to a report in Axios by the Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, which cited unnamed sources. The Associated Press reported that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the talks.
“Look dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president has proven is what he believes is [a] good faith, effort to do what’s right for the American people,” she said, according to the AP.
The talks are unprecedented: Previously, the United States and Israel have negotiated only through intermediaries with Hamas, which has been designated as a terror organization by both countries for decades. The United States has also previously generally aligned with Israel, rather than negotiating separately from it.
Hamas officials have reportedly confirmed the talks in Arab media, saying that Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, had also participated. Axios reported that Witkoff, who is Jewish, had planned to fly to Doha, the site of previous indirect talks, but an unnamed official said he called off the trip “after he saw there was no progress from Hamas’ side.”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a one-sentence statement that it had made its position known to U.S. officials but did not elaborate: “Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas.”
Boehler’s responsibility is to achieve the return of Americans held illegally abroad. Five of the remaining 59 Israeli hostages in Gaza are Americans: one, Edan Alexander, who is believed to be alive, and four who are known to be dead.
President Donald Trump has sent mixed signals about the future of the war, which has been paused for more than six weeks amid a temporary ceasefire that expired this week. He has said that he wants an end to the war and that he would support whatever choice the Israelis make about how to prosecute the war.
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