USA confirm direct conversations with Hamas about American hostages, while negotiations to extend the ceasefire face Israel’s impasses and threats
The US negotiated directly with Hamas about the possibility of releasing American hostages in their first direct conversations with the militant group, the White House said on Wednesday (5).
Direct diplomacy, conducted in Doha by the US special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, occurs at a time when negotiations to extend the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas or make it permanent are stagnant.
In response to a question about whether the US had direct conversations with Hamas, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said on Wednesday: “These are conversations and discussions ongoing. I won’t detail them here. There are American lives at stake. ”
Leavitt said the US consulted Israel about negotiations and added that President Donald Trump believes in “dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what is the best interest of the American people.”
A person familiar with the subject said the discussions addressed the possible liberation of American hostages and the end of the war.
On Wednesday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said: “Israel expressed to the United States his position on direct negotiations with Hamas.”
The US has long avoided direct conversations with Hamas, which was designated as a terrorist group in 1997.
Hamas still keeps 59 hostages in Gaza, it is believed that less than half of them is alive. Five are American citizens with double nationality, including one, Edan Alexander of New Jersey, who is believed to be alive.
According to Israeli authorities, US special envoy Steve Witkoff presented a “bridge proposal” last weekend to extend the current ceasefire for another 50 days. The agreement would depend on the release of half of the remaining hostages that Hamas still held.
Hamas immediately rejected the proposal, calling it “manipulation.”
International mediators brokered a six -week interruption at the end of January, during which more than three dozen hostages were released and about 1,500 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons.
The initial phase of the truce ended last weekend, although the fighting has not resumed.
Hamas remained publicly firm in its position that the next stage of the ceasefire will have to be agreed before any additional hostages are released.
The second phase would include a total Israeli withdrawal of Gaza, the permanent end of the war and the reconstruction of the destroyed territory.
In response to the rejection of Hamas’s Witkoff’s proposal, Israel suspended the entire entry of aid in the besieged enclave on Sunday and threatened to cut water and electricity to cut off before a possible new offensive.
“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the liberation of our hostages. If Hamas continues his refusal, there will be more consequences, ”said Netanyahu.
The US is pushing to extend the ceasefire agreement in exchange for hostages, which was negotiated by Witkoff and the Biden government before Trump returned to office.
Analysts said the US would have difficulty delivering what Hamas wanted in negotiations, adding that conversations with the militant group risk creating a division between the Israeli and Washington public.
“It’s hard to imagine that this will be successful because what Hamas wants is that the war will be, what the US cannot control, and that Palestinian prisoners leave Israeli arrests, which the US cannot control,” said Jonathan Panikoff of Atlantic Council.
“There are significant risks in negotiating with terrorist groups because knowing that Washington will do so encourage them to repeat their activities in the future,” he added.
With information from Financial Times*
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/03/05/casa-branca-admite-dialogo-direto-com-o-hamas/
