The Trump administration is holding direct talks with Hamas, marking the first time the US has ever engaged directly with the Palestinian group, Axios reported on Wednesday.
The report, which has been confirmed by the White House, said the talks were focused on the release of the bodies of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza who have US citizenship and a US citizen who is believed to be alive, 21-year-old Edan Alexander, who grew up in New Jersey and moved to Israel after high school to join the Israeli military.
The report said the US and Hamas are also discussing the possibility of reaching a broader deal on a permanent truce, although Israel has severely violated the agreement reached in January and has now imposed a total siege on aid and all other goods entering Gaza with full US backing.
The talks have been held in Doha, Qatar, in recent weeks between Adam Boehler, President Trump’s special envoy for hostages, and Hamas officials. One source told Axios that while the US consulted Israel about the possible talks, Israel learned about them through other channels.
An Israeli source told The Times of Israel that the possibility of direct talks between the US and Hamas came up during the Biden administration, but Israel expressed its opposition. The source said Israel didn’t think it was in the position to oppose the idea under the Trump administration and said that Israeli officials weren’t fully briefed on Boehler’s talks with Hamas ahead of time.
A Hamas source told Al Arabiya that the group has had direct contact with Adam Boehler as well as President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, which was not mentioned in the Axios report. Back in January, Hamas said it was ready to engage directly with the US, and the idea was welcomed by Witkoff.
While the Trump administration is engaging in diplomacy with Hamas, President Trump has repeatedly threatened the group, vowing there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages aren’t released. He has also repeatedly called for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza to make way for his plan for a US takeover of the Strip.
The Trump administration has also emboldened Israel by providing billions in new military aid as it threatens to restart its genocidal war and is in blatant violation of the ceasefire deal reached in January.
