The United States holds talks with Hamas on the hostages held in Gaza, confirmed the White House.
Washington has so far avoided direct engagement with the group, and there is a long -standing American policy against direct contact with the entities it lists as terrorist organizations.
The white house press secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists during a briefing that Israel had been consulted before the talks.
“Two direct meetings” took place between Hamas and an American official, “several communications said,” a Palestinian source told the BBC.
News of talks was reported for the first time by AxiosWho declared that the two parties met in Qatar to discuss the release of the American hostages as well as a wider agreement to end the war.
“With regard to the negotiations to which you refer, first of all, the special envoy that is engaged in these negotiations to authority,” said Leavitt.
The special envoy for hostages, Adam Boehler’s work was an “effort in good faith to do what is good for the American people,” she told journalists.
President Trump believed that he was in the best interest of the American people, said Leavitt.
Israel said that there were still 59 hostages detained in Gaza, with up to 24 that would be alive. American citizens are also among the captives.
A former US deputy secretary for Defense for the Middle East said that the United States had to be “more proactive” to recover its citizens.
Mick Mulroy, who is also a former CIA paramilitary officer, added that “this could complicate the ability of Israelis to recover their citizens if they are not closely coordinated”.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister said in a statement that he had “expressed his position” concerning direct talks, but had not provided additional information.
According to reports, Boehler has met representatives of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha, in recent weeks.
Hamas has a base in Doha since 2012, apparently at the request of the Obama administration.
The state of the Gulf Petit but influential is a key American ally in the region. It welcomes a major American air base and has managed many delicate political negotiations, especially with Iran, the Taliban and Russia.
Alongside the United States and Egypt, Qatar also played a major role in talks to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
An American official told Axios that the Witkoff Steve Witkoff’s envoy had canceled a visit to Doha to discuss the cease-fire negotiations with Qatar Prime Minister on Tuesday after there was no progress in talks.
Anonymous sources have told the United States-based information site that discussions between the United States and Hamas on the publication of the remaining hostages and the realization of a long-term truce, had not yet concluded an agreement.
Additional report by Bernd Debusmann
