Trump's Middle East envoy Witkoff says Hamas ‘impractical’ in Gaza ceasefire talks

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has said Hamas is feigning “flexibility” in public while making entirely different demands in private, as discussions continue on the next steps for the fragile Gaza ceasefire. 

On Friday, Hamas announced that it had agreed to release US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, as well as the bodies of four other US-Israeli citizens. No definitive timeline was set for the move. 

The group said it “affirms its complete readiness to initiate negotiations and reach a comprehensive agreement on the issues of the second phase while calling for the occupation to fully implement its obligations”.

It also announced on its Telegram channel on Friday that a delegation is heading to Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials.

But Witkoff, who spent much of the week with Arab and Israeli mediators in Doha, insisted there would be no “second phase” of the ceasefire - just an extension of the first phase, for now. 

“Under the ‘bridge’ proposal, Hamas would release living hostages in exchange for prisoners in accordance with previous formulas; the phase-one ceasefire would be extended to enable the resumption of significant humanitarian assistance; and the US would work towards a durable solution to this intractable conflict during the extended ceasefire period,” a statement from Witkoff’s office said on Friday. 

“Through our Qatari and Egyptian partners, Hamas was told in no uncertain terms that this ‘bridge’ would have to be implemented soon - and that dual US-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander would have to be released immediately,” the statement continued.

“Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire.”  

'Psychological warfare'

Speaking at the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Quebec, Canada, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed the captive swaps where fewer than a handful of Israelis are released by Hamas to get hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli facilities.

"We're acting like this is a normal exchange; it's an outrage. [The Israelis] should all be released. I'm not gonna comment on what we're going to accept and not accept.”

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had accepted the Witkoff proposal, but “Hamas remains firm in its refusal and has not budged one millimeter.”

The statement said Hamas was waging “manipulation and psychological warfare”.

The Times of Israel characterised the standoff as “an attempt to divide the US and Israel by daring [Israel] to deny an opportunity to free Americans”.

This follows an unprecedented meeting between Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, with officials from Hamas. Washington famously does not negotiate with terrorists, and Hamas has been listed by the US as a terror organisation since 1997. 

The talks - while approved directly by Trump - reportedly infuriated the Israelis, who leaked the news to the press and have since wanted Boehler removed from the file. 

As of Friday, a US official cited by The Times of Israel said Boehler is still working on freeing all US captives around the world. 

Netanyahu will now convene members of the Israeli negotiating team on Saturday night, as Witkoff again warns that “President Trump has made it clear that Hamas will either release hostages immediately, or pay a severe price.”