Report: US Holds Secret Talks with Hamas on Gaza Hostages

Hamas fighters escort Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (AFP)
Hamas fighters escort Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Report: US Holds Secret Talks with Hamas on Gaza Hostages

Hamas fighters escort Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (AFP)
Hamas fighters escort Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (AFP)

The Trump administration has been conducting secret talks with the Palestinian group Hamas on the possibility of releasing US hostages being held in Gaza, two sources briefed on the conversations told Reuters.

US special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler has been holding the direct talks with Hamas in recent weeks in Doha, the sources said, confirming a report by Axios.

Until recently the US had avoided direct discussions with the group. The US State Department designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

Such talks run counter to long-standing US policy against direct contacts with groups that Washington lists as terrorist organizations.

The previous US role in helping to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza war has been dealing with Israel and Qatari and Egyptian mediators but without any known direct communications between Washington and Hamas.

The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Boehler's office declined to comment.

It was unclear when or how the Israeli government was informed of the talks.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did representatives for Hamas.

The sources said the talks have focused on gaining the release of American hostages still held in Gaza, but one said they also have included discussions about a broader deal to release all remaining hostages and how to reach a long-term truce.

One of the sources said the effort includes an attempt to gain the release of Edan Alexander, of Tenafly, New Jersey, believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas.

US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff plans to return to the region in coming days to work out a way to either extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal or advance to the second phase, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday.



Sudan's RSF Says It Has Not Been Officially Notified of Humanitarian Truce in El Fasher

RSF fighters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur (File photo – Telegram)
RSF fighters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur (File photo – Telegram)
TT
20

Sudan's RSF Says It Has Not Been Officially Notified of Humanitarian Truce in El Fasher

RSF fighters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur (File photo – Telegram)
RSF fighters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur (File photo – Telegram)

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it had not received any official request from international actors to implement a humanitarian truce in the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where thousands of civilians remain trapped and at risk of famine.

The statement came a day after Sudanese army chief and head of the ruling Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, agreed to a week-long ceasefire in El Fasher at the request of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

RSF legal adviser Mohamed al-Mukhtar al-Nour told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group rejects any partial or full ceasefire, whether in El Fasher or elsewhere. He said the RSF had not received formal communication from the UN or the United States regarding the proposed truce.

According to al-Nour, El Fasher is now largely deserted, with most civilians having fled to areas such as Tawila, Karma, and Jebel Marra.

Those remaining in the city, he claimed, are Sudanese Armed Forces personnel and allied fighters from armed movements supporting the army.

El Fasher has been the focal point of intense fighting in recent weeks, raising alarm among humanitarian agencies about the safety of civilians and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Darfur.