WASHINGTON (Palestine Foundation Information Center) US President Donald Trump’s envoy Adam Boehler said on Sunday that US meetings with Hamas on the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza were very helpful.
Boehler said he believed something could be achieved on the Gaza hostages within weeks, but did not elaborate.
the US official did not rule out additional encounters with the Palestinian Movement.
“We’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel,” Boehler said.
Along the same line, two US officials revealed that the White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Doha on Tuesday evening in an effort to broker a new prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Axios website explained that the talks would be the first since Trump took office and since the original agreement between Israel and Hamas that established a 42-day ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of 33 captives in its first phase, which ended one week ago.
Witkoff is expected to join Qatari and Egyptian mediators and negotiators from Israel and Hamas who will begin talks on Monday, the source added.
The renewed diplomatic push follows mounting frustration after Israel refused to move forward with the second phase of the agreed ceasefire deal — a key condition of the initial truce. The second phase includes negotiations on a permanent ceasefire, as well as lifting Israel’s blockade on Gaza to allow aid deliveries to resume.
Despite international calls to honor the ceasefire conditions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly refused to engage in negotiations over this next phase. Aid agencies and humanitarian groups have condemned Israel’s actions, warning that the reimposed blockade is worsening Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
