The United States broke a long -term diplomatic taboo by organizing secret talks with the militant Palestinian group Hamas about securing US geiseln in Gaza.
The Messenger from US-Geisel Affairs Adam Boehler has the authority to speak directly to Hamas, said the White House when he was asked about the discussions that were broken against negotiations with groups with a decades of politics that the US brands as terrorist organizations.
Boehler and Hamas officers have met in Doha in the past few weeks of how two sources were informed about the negotiations. It was not clear who represented Hamas.
In the White House, Trump met a group of hostages that had recently been published as part of a Gaza ceasefire contract, and he spent a strong new threat to Hamas in a social media post.
He demanded that the Hamas “don’t publish all the hostages later”, including the remains of dead hostages, or it is over for them “.
“I send Israel everything it needs to end the job, and not a single Hamas member is safe if you don’t do what I say,” he wrote. “Also for the people in Gaza: A nice future awaited, but not if you hold hostages. If you do this, you are dead! Make a smart decision. Now publish the hostages, otherwise there will be hell to pay later!”
Trump’s warning repeated his threat “Hell to pay” before returning to the White House on January 20, which in mid -January pursued the ceasefire and hostage of hostage, for which he applied for an office in front of the then President Joe Biden.
Once again, Trump did not give exactly what measures he could take if Hamas could not keep up.
Hamas has not yet commented on Trump’s threats.
For a long time, the United States had avoided direct engagement with the militant group, which carried out a cross -border attack to South Israel on October 7, 2023. He killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, which triggered a devastating gaza. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the offensive of Israel has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.
The US State Department described a terrorist organization in 1997.
One of the sources said that the efforts contain an attempt to achieve the release of Edan Alexander from Tenafly, NJ, which was believed to be the last living American hostage of Hamas. He appeared in a video published by Hamas in November 2024.
Four other US geisels were declared dead by the Israeli authorities.
So far, the US role has been helping with the granting of a Gaza ceasefire and a hostage sales contract with Israel and Katari and Egyptian mediators, but without known direct communications between Washington and Hamas.
The Press spokesman for the White House, Karoline Leavitt, said reporters that Boehler “had the authority” to have direct discussions with Hamas. She said Israel was consulted, but did not state whether this was before or after the conversations. She described the contacts as part of Trump’s “good luck to do what is right for the American people”.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office made an explanation: “Israel expressed the United States in relation to direct discussions with Hamas.” It was not developed. Together with many other countries, Israel sees Hamas as a terrorist organization and refuses to negotiate directly with the group.
Taher al-Nono, a political advisor to Hamas, told Reuters: “I have no information about meetings with American officials, but every meeting with the American administration is an advantage for the stability of the region.”
Risks and possibilities with approach
The sources said that the talks focused on gaining the publication of American hostages in Gaza, but one said that they also had discussions about a broader offer to publish all remaining hostages and the achievement of long -term ceasefire.
The fights in Gaza have been discontinued since January 19 and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and prisoners. The Israeli authorities believe that fewer than half of the remaining 59 hostages are still alive.
Leavitt was asked whether the talks with Hamas also contained Trump’s controversial proposal for the United States to take over Gaza. Last month he suggested that the war gaza will be transformed into a Riviera resort after its residents were relocated elsewhere, an idea that was rejected in the Arab world and condemned by human rights groups.
“These are ongoing discussions and discussions. I will not describe them in detail,” she said. “American life are at stake.”
Jonathan Panikoff, a former deputy national secret service officer in the Middle East, said Trump’s unconventional diplomatic approach has both risks and opportunities.
“On the one hand, it could be easier to make Hamas easier to bring us hostage and to achieve a long-term agreement,” Panikoff said now at the Atlantic Council think tank.
“On the other hand, there is a reason why the United States does not normally negotiate with terrorist groups, and knew that Washington would do so to repeat behavior in the future.”
Steve Witkoff, the envoy of the Trump in the Middle East, plans to return to the region in the coming days in order to either extend the first phase of the Gaza Ceasefire deal or to get into the second phase, said a spokesman for the US State Department on Monday.
