The White House said that President Donald Trump’s envoy on captive affairs, Adam Boehler, held the talks, which focused on Americans among the remaining captives in Gaza [GETTY]
The United States on Wednesday confirmed unprecedented direct talks with Hamas on captives, as Israel threatened to renew its military campaign in Gaza despite a fragile ceasefire.
The White House said that President Donald Trump’s envoy on captive affairs, Adam Boehler, held the talks, which focused on Americans among the remaining captives in Gaza.
“Israel was consulted on this matter,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
“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” believes is right, she said.
She said Israel was consulted but did not indicate whether this was before or after the talks, and she described them as part of President Donald Trump’s “good faith effort to do what’s right for the American people.”
“When it comes to the negotiations that you’re referring to, first of all, the special envoy who’s engaged in those negotiations does have the authority,” Leavitt added.
Hamas officials confirmed on Wednesday the group has held direct talks with a US envoy on freeing captives held in Gaza.
“Several communications took place between Hamas and various American communication channels, the latest being with a US envoy and discussed the issue of Israeli prisoners who hold American citizenship, both the living and the deceased,” said a Hamas official who asked to remain anonymous.
A second senior Hamas official said there had been “two direct meetings between Hamas and US officials in Doha in recent days.”
The United States had refused direct contact with the Palestinian group since banning them as a terrorist organisation in 1997. However, Leavitt said that the captive envoy in his role “has the authority to talk to anyone.”
Israel has conveyed its position to the United States on direct talks with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday, without elaborating.
“Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The talks were first reported by Axios, which said Boehler met with Hamas in Qatar about the US captives but also as part of a longer-term truce.
Five Americans are believed to remain among the captives seized in the 7 October attack on Israel. Four of them have been confirmed dead and the other, Edan Alexander, is believed to be alive.
