The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been engaged in secret direct talks with the Hamas terror organization over the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and the possibility of a final agreement to end the war, the Axios news outlet revealed on Wednesday afternoon.
The talks were conducted by Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler in Doha, Qatar over the past few weeks, Axios reported.
The White House later confirmed the existence of the talks, the first direct contact between the U.S. government and Hamas, which the U.S. designated as a terror organization in 1997. In a press briefing, when asked about the Axios report, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that Boehler “does have the authority to talk to anyone.”
Although the talks run counter to long-standing U.S. policy against direct contact with terrorist organizations, Boehler’s talks are believed to have focused on the American-Israeli hostages in Gaza. In her remarks, Leavitt mentioned that there are “American lives at stake.”
“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 that he believes,” Leavitt stated.
Trump administration holding secret direct talks with Hamas over hostage release
