Sources confirm U.S. envoy Witkoff met directly with Hamas leaders in Doha
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, held direct talks with Hamas leaders in Qatar on Wednesday, sources told The National. According to the sources, this marked the first meeting between the real estate magnate and representatives of the militant Palestinian group.
The US envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, met Hamas leaders in March and last week, News.Az reports citing The National.
The talks between Mr Witkoff and the Hamas officials on Wednesday coincided with Mr Trump’s visit to Qatar, his second stop of a three-nation Gulf tour that has already taken him to Saudi Arabia. His next stop is the UAE.
The talks "made progress" towards reaching an agreement on a Gaza ceasefire and the release of the remaining 58 hostages held by Hamas, the sources said.
Like Israel and the EU, the US designates Hamas as a terrorist group. The US State Department and Hamas officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This week, Hamas freed dual US-Israel national Edan Alexander as a goodwill gesture to Mr Trump as he was about to embark on his Gulf tour.
US-led negotiations on Gaza are continuing in an effort to clinch a deal to pause the war, with the conflict high on the agenda during Mr Trump's visit to the region.
This week, sources told The National that negotiations were continuing simultaneously in Egypt and Qatar, long-time Washington allies who, along with the US, have been mediating an end to the war in Gaza since shortly after it broke out in October 2023.
The sources said the negotiations in Doha were focused on a truce, the release of hostages held by Hamas and the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid into the war-devastated enclave.
The stakeholders of the Gaza negotiations, according to the sources, were also exploring scenarios beyond a truce, looking into ways to end the conflict and start reconstruction of the enclave, as well as discussing the future of Hamas.
Hamas negotiators, they added, have not budged on their long-standing demands for a "comprehensive" deal that includes the release of all 58 hostages it is still holding in return for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, including high-profile figures serving lengthy jail terms.
Hamas has also demanded an end to the war and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, where at least 52,900 Palestinians have been killed and more than twice that number injured since the war began, health authorities in the enclave have said.
The sources said US mediators were considering Hamas's demands, including giving the militant group a guarantee that negotiations would begin during a pause in the fighting – the US initially proposed a 21-day truce, but Hamas wants it to last up to 70 days – to hammer out a formula for ending the war.
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