US holding direct talks with Hamas on American hostages held in Gaza

The US has been holding direct talks with Hamas to discuss American hostages being held by the group in Gaza, a senior diplomatic source said on Wednesday.

The talks were held in the Qatari capital of Doha and led by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, the source said.

Boehler has also discussed a potential end to the war in Gaza, according to the official, who added that it was not clear how Israel found out about the talks. The White House said on Tuesday that Israel had been consulted.

“Dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people, is something that the president has proven is what he believes is good faith effort to do what’s right for the American people,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press conference.

According to the State Department, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to travel to the Middle East in the coming days to discuss extending the current Gaza ceasefire or the potential for moving on to the second stage of the deal.

Washington has been coordinating with Egypt, Qatar and Israel since the start of the war, which broke out after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed over 1,200 people in Israel.

Axios first reported on the meetings.

The US designated Hamas as a terror organization in 1997, the same year it designated Lebanese Hezbollah. US officials are prohibited from having contact with designated terrorists or members of a terrorist organization. However, in rare cases such as this, certain officials are permitted, such as the special envoy for hostage affairs or intelligence community members.

Officials in the first Trump administration secretly traveled to Damascus during the final days of his first term, seeking to negotiate with the Assad regime the release of American journalist Austin Tice. Tice’s fate and whereabouts are still unknown.