Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades hand over of Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, February 22, 2025. (Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
U.S. President Donald Trump defended his administration’s first-ever direct and secret talks with representatives of the Hamas terrorist organization after reports leaked from Israel claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not been informed in advance.
“We are helping Israel in those discussions because we’re talking about Israeli hostages,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.
“We’re not doing anything in terms of Hamas. We’re not giving cash,” he continued. “You have to negotiate. There’s a difference between negotiating and paying. We want to get these people out.”
However, an Israeli official told the Times of Israel that the government was behind Wednesday’s leak of the secret talks and that Netanyahu had not been informed nor consulted before they began.
On Wednesday evening, the Prime Minister’s Office released a terse statement, stating, “Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas.”
According to Ynet News, a previous attempt to establish contact with Hamas had been prevented by strong Israeli opposition. Therefore, this time, the U.S. reportedly decided not to inform Jerusalem until after the fact.
Steve Witkoff with some comments on Hamas today:
“By the way, who keeps dead bodies? Who does that?”
“Who keeps people chained up downstairs? Who murders people in front of other hostages? What’s happened here is intolerable, and it’s not going to be tolerated by President… pic.twitter.com/HEV0tP5ifP
— The Washington Observer (@WashObserver) March 6, 2025
On Thursday, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, acknowledged that freeing kidnapped American-Israeli IDF soldier Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other American hostages is the priority, but added he was working to free all of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
“Edan Alexander is very important to us – as all the hostages are – but Edan Alexander is an American, and he’s injured, so he’s a top priority for us,” Witkoff told reporters.
Regarding Trump’s latest ultimatum and what would happen after it expired, Witkoff said, “It’s unclear exactly what’s going to happen. There’s going to be some action taken. It could be jointly with the Israelis.”
However, he appeared to clarify that kinetic military action would be left to the IDF.
“We’re a guarantor of the process. It’s the Israelis who control Gaza today… and the counterparty is Hamas. Any action principally comes from the Israelis. But you heard the president say yesterday, he’s giving the Israelis anything they need. It’s the Israelis [who will act], but with very, very strong physical and emotional support from the United States,” Witkoff said.
“Hamas has an opportunity to act reasonably, to do what’s right, and then to walk out. They’re not going to be a part of a government there,” the envoy added. “I wouldn’t test President Trump.”
The covert discussions, the first of their kind since the United States designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in 1997, are being led by Adam Boehler, Trump’s hostage envoy in Doha.
According to Egyptian sources with close ties to the parties involved, progress was being made toward implementing phase two of the hostage release deal, aimed at securing the return of all living hostages.
The focus of the talks is New Jersey native Edan Alexander – the only living dual U.S.-Israeli citizen still in Gaza – and the kidnapped bodies of the remaining dual American-Israeli citizens Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, Judi Weinstein and Gadi Haggai.
A Ynet report indicated that Jerusalem opposes the talks, fearing that if the U.S. successfully secures the release of its citizens, it may not pursue a comprehensive hostage deal for all those still held in Gaza.
Netanyahu so far hasn’t shown interest in advancing to phase 2 of the deal, which would require Israel to fully withdraw its troops from Gaza and put an end to the war. Instead, reports suggest that the IDF is preparing for a resumption of war in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, Hamas military spokesman Abu Obaida threatened that hostages would die if Israel resumed military operations. Despite this, he affirmed the terror group’s commitment to the ceasefire agreement, stating that it was prepared “for all possibilities.”
