Witkoff and Hamas’ Hayya shared pain of sons’ loss at secret meeting
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met senior Hamas officials, including Khalil al-Hayya, on Wednesday in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh as the US envoys used a personal touch to put the finishing touches on the Gaza ceasefire deal, sources from the Palestinian movement told Middle East Eye.
The Hamas sources said Middle East envoy Witkoff asked to meet the group's leaders after they received written confirmation that the deal would definitively end the war.
Hamas feared Israel would resume its attacks on Gaza once the 20 living Israeli captives were freed as part of a prisoner exchange that kicked off the agreement.
Hayya, who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Doha just three weeks before the meeting, was leading the Hamas team at the meeting. His son was killed in the Israeli strike on the Qatari capital.
Also attending were Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and an Egyptian delegation.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Witkoff offered his condolences to Hayya over the killing of his son in Doha. He spoke about his own late son, saying that he understands the pain of losing a child.
The US envoy recalled how his son Andrew died at 22 from an OxyContin overdose.
"Since then I have dedicated myself to end the suffering of others," Witkoff said, adding that this was a motivation for him to ensure the end of the war.
Kushner, who is US President Donald Trump's son in law, then said: “we speak as both Jewish and American when we say we are committed to ensuring this is the end of the war”. Both envoys reiterated Trump’s determination to end the two-year conflict completely.
"We insist on focusing on the issue of ending the war and completing the exchange of hostages, and want to avoid all matters that could hinder negotiations," Witkoff insisted.
Building confidence
According to MEE's sources, Hayya said that Hamas had always been willing to bring the war to a close and spoke about the importance of ending the suffering in Gaza.
He highlighted the extent of Israel's crimes in Gaza, where more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and said the vast destruction wrought in the enclave would need massive reconstruction efforts.
The next day, Trump announced a ceasefire deal had been reached. On Monday, Israel and Hamas began exchanging 20 living Israeli captives for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The meeting between Witkoff, Kushner and Hamas was first reported on Monday by Axios, whose sources said the US envoys travelled to Egypt to break a stalemate in the negotiations.
However, MEE's sources insisted the deal had essentially been agreed and that the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting was more of a courtesy, confidence-building measure.
This was the second significant direct engagement between the Trump administration and Hamas.
In March, US hostage envoy Adam Boehler met with leaders from the Palestinian movement to secure the release of Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier with American citizenship who was captured on 7 October 2023.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
