US holding direct talks with Hamas: Reports
The Trump administration has been conducting clandestine talks with Hamas on releasing US captives held in Gaza, according to several media reports.
US special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler has been holding the direct talks with Hamas in recent weeks in Doha, a source told the Reuters news agency, corroborating the news first reported by US outlet Axios.
Israel learned about parts of the talks through various other channels besides the US itself, one unnamed source told Axios.
While the talks’ focus has been on releasing US captives, they have also included discussions on releasing all remaining captives as well, the outlet reported sources as saying.
The Israeli Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, responded to the report of direct talks saying, “They can talk with Hamas, that’s ok.”
In an interview with Fox Business, Akunis said: “If the White House wants to talk directly with Hamas and put them under pressure to release more hostages, we would be happy to see more hostages with their families.”
Boehler’s office and the White House have not yet commented on the reports.
Until recently, the US had avoided direct discussions with Hamas, with the US State Department having designated the group as a “foreign terrorist” organisation in 1997.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the initial contact between the two parties occurred last month in Doha, where US negotiator Adam Boehler requested the release of captives with US citizenship.
Hamas responded by releasing Sagui Dekel Chen from captivity on February 15.
The newspaper quotes unnamed US and Hamas officials, as well as two Arab mediators in its report.
White House press secretary confirms US-Hamas talks
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed that the Trump administration has been engaged in talks with Hamas.
Speaking at a news briefing, Leavitt said that “the special envoy who’s engaged in those negotiations does have the authority to talk to anyone.”
Leavitt added that Israel was consulted on the matter and that President Trump believes in “dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people”.
“These are ongoing talks and discussions, I’m not going to detail them here, there are American lives at stake.”
Israel claims it was consulted on US-Hamas direct talks
Israel says it had been consulted by the US on direct talks with Hamas to secure the release of US captives held in Gaza, which we have been reporting on.
“In consultation with the United States, Israel expressed its opinion on direct talks with Hamas,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement after the White House confirmed its envoy had spoken directly with Hamas, in a shift from long-held US policy.
Smotrich in Washington for US Treasury meetings
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is in Washington for meetings at the US Treasury Department.
In a post on X, Smotrich wrote that “after four years in which, under the Biden administration, there was no ministerial-level meeting between the US Treasury Department and the Israeli government – we are now entering the US Treasury Department for a very important meeting”.
Smotrich thanked President Trump and his administration for their “unequivocal support for the State of Israel” and the “full backing they are giving us”. He said that at the meeting, officials would discuss economic and strategic cooperation between the US and Israel.
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