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U.S. Holding Secret Talks With Hamas on Hostage Release

The Trump administration has sent the U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs to directly talk to the terrorist organization Hamas.

The Trump administration is holding covert talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and a deal to end the war, Axios reported. These secret communications between Adam Boehler, the U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs, and the terrorist organization took place in Doha in recent weeks and are considered unprecedented. Although the Trump administration had consulted Israel about possibly engaging with Hamas, Israel only learned about the contents of the meetings after the fact and through other channels, sources told the outlet. While talks about releasing U.S. hostages are well within Boehler’s wheelhouse, discussions regarding a broader deal to release all the remaining hostages in a long-term truce might be a more difficult task and no deal has been agreed upon yet. Another White House envoy, Steve Witkoff, was also expected to fly to Doha this week to meet the prime minister of Qatar to discuss ceasefire negotiations. However, his trip was canceled on Tuesday night when he didn’t see any progress from Hamas’ side.