WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is engaging in direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Wednesday.
President Donald Trump believes the dialog is part of a “good faith effort to do what’s right for the American people,” Leavitt said at a White House news briefing.
“There are American lives at stake,” she added, noting that Israel had been consulted.
The development comes after the six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended Saturday with no extension of peace negotiations in sight. It marks the first time the U.S. has held direct talks with the group, which it has designated a terrorist organization.
Axios first reported the talks between the U.S. and Hamas.
Asked whether the scope of the talks included Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza, Leavitt said she would not go into details at the briefing and referred questions to the State Department.
Initially, the idea for a second phase of a ceasefire included the release of more hostages by Hamas in return for Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian territory, with the aim of ending the war.
But with no talks continuing, Israel reinstated a halt in the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza after the initial phase of the ceasefire ended. Hamas then accused Israel of violating their agreement by “evading the commitment to end the war and withdraw completely from Gaza.”
Last weekend, Israel approved a plan from the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that would have continued the first stage of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover instead of proceeding to the second phase of peace talks.
Witkoff’s plan called for the release of half of the remaining hostages, including the bodies of those who have died, on the first day, and the remaining hostages once a permanent ceasefire deal is reached, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
But Hamas rejected the proposal, saying it didn’t honor the original, multi-phased ceasefire agreement.
“Unfortunately, these positions by the United States strengthened the position of the Zionist right within the government and pushed for taking punitive steps, including closing the crossings in this manner and using the starvation policy against the people of the Gaza Strip,” the group’s spokesman, Hazem Qassem said in a statement on Sunday.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement Sunday that Israel has “negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists.”
Hughes added that the U.S. will support Israel’s decision on next steps “given Hamas has indicated it’s no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire.”
On Monday, Netanyahu warned Hamas in remarks before the Knesset, Israel’s legislature, that if the group didn’t release more hostages, “there will be consequences beyond your imagination. We are preparing for the next stages of the campaign — not everything is visible, and that’s a good thing.”
The initial ceasefire was announced by the Biden administration in January just days before Trump’s inauguration. It required a pause of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the release of both living and dead hostages held there in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Astha Rajvanshi, Yamiche Alcindor and Katherine Doyle contributed.
