Cracks appear to be emerging between the Trump administration and Israel as the United States attempts to secure a lasting end to the Hamas war and free Americans still being held by the U.S.-designated terrorist group.
Adam Boehler, U.S. special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, held initial conversations with senior Hamas leaders this month — the first time a U.S. official has done so since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that ignited the current conflict.
Boehler, who has since spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's adviser, Ron Dermer, said Sunday he was "sympathetic" toward Israel's concern about the U.S.-Hamas talks but noted that the U.S. is "not an agent of Israel."
"[Dermer] has someone that he doesn't know well making direct contact with Hamas. Maybe I would see them and say, look, they don't have horns growing out of their head. They're actually guys like us. They're pretty nice guys," he said on CNN's State of the Union. "So he doesn't know me. And there are big stakes. He lives in a country where, if it sets certain precedents, then it will hurt or help a lot of other people. So I understand the consternation and the concern. And I wasn't upset."
He then acknowledged that the U.S. has "specific interests at play" and that his conversation with Hamas was meant to "jump-start some negotiations that were in a very fragile place."
Boehler, who also left open the possibility of future talks with Hamas leaders, later walked back those comments on social media, while Israel inquired to Washington about his remarks, according to Israeli media.
"I want to be CRYSTAL CLEAR as some have misinterpreted. Hamas is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of innocent people. They are BY DEFINITION BAD people," he said on social media.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the U.S.’s direct talks with Hamas were a “one-off situation,” adding, “Our special envoy for hostages — whose job it is to get people released — had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over these people, and was given permission and encouraged to do so.”
Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel to Doha this week to push for a new hostage release and ceasefire deal.
Israel and Hamas's six-week ceasefire agreement expired at the start of March, and they have not been able to come to an agreement on what comes next due to the complexities of the situation. Israel has not restarted widespread military operations in Gaza.
Hamas is believed to have just shy of 60 hostages, whom the terrorist group has held since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Twenty-four of the hostages are believed to be alive still. Five Americans — including 21-year-old Edan Alexander, who is believed to be alive — are among the hostages.
In a controversial decision, Israel announced it would stop allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza and cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip. Critics of Israel have said the decision amounts to collective punishment, which is a war crime, while its backers argued that Israel does not have an obligation to aid Hamas, even though Palestinian civilians are affected by the Israeli government's decisions.
Trump issued his "last warning" to Hamas late last week on his social media account, saying it needs to release the hostages or face additional consequences.
"Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you," Trump said. "Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted! I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say."
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS US IS 'NOT AN AGENT OF ISRAEL' AMID HAMAS NEGOTIATIONS
The president has also promoted a plan for Gaza to be depopulated, which would force Palestinians into nearby Arab countries while the U.S. leads a reconstruction effort. Witkoff indicated this could take longer than a decade, and Arab countries have widely criticized the plan, which they have said could amount to ethnic cleansing.
One of the major questions that has proved to be an insurmountable hurdle for negotiators so far is how Gaza should be governed in the long term and how to ensure Hamas cannot have a role in that, which both the U.S. and Israel have agreed on.