Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right hand man and the US official leading the talks about the secret negotiation between US and the Hamas for hostages had a contentious call on Tuesday, two sources tell Axios.
In February when US officials ran the idea of engaging with Hamas directly, Israeli officials advised them against it, and it came to be known through other channels that the US was moving ahead and doing it anyway.
Netanyahu has said that Israel has made its opinion clear to the US, however, his closest confidant Ron Dermer was not very restrained during the call with Adam Boehler, the US hostage envoy.
The call took place a few hours after Boehler met with Khalil al-Hayya in Doha, one of Hamas’ most senior political officials and the head of its negotiating team. Prior to this, Boehler’s negotiations began with lower-level Hamas officials in Doha.
The talks revolved around bringing home the bodies of four deceased American hostages and Edan Alexander, a 21 year old American hostage.
This deal was expected to be the precursor for a broader deal involving a long term truce, release of the remaining hostages, a safe passage out of Gaza for Hamas leaders and finally the end of the war.
The talks also involved specifics like the number of Palestinian prisoners that would be released from Israeli jails in exchange for Alexander – a point that Israel had not agreed to.
Earlier, Netanyahu was dismissive of the idea that the US will hold direct talks with Hamas, but now that it is actually happening, he and his advisors are concerned, a source told Axios.
The call between Boehler and Dermer was “difficult” as Dermer objected to Boehler making such proposals with the consent of Israel.
The direct talks with Hamas were requested by three American hostage families during the Biden administration, in order to get a separate deal to free their loved ones. However, the Biden administration thought that this would legitimise Hamas, which the US considers a terror group.
“These talks went nowhere because what Hamas wanted was a ceasefire and prisoners, and it was in Israel’s hands, not ours,” the former Biden adviser said, adding that such direct talks would only aggravate the matter further.
However, when the Trump administration came to power, Steve Witkoff joined in to negotiate a Gaza deal when the Biden administration was in its final days. He initially suggested the direct talks with Hamas but that did not happen initially.
On Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social account a new public ultimatum for Hamas to release the remaining hostages. “This is your last warning!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Witkoff is set to travel again next week and said that Alexander’s release is the top priority right now as he is injured. He also added that such a deal would only help Hamas as it would “get them a lot of political capital”. He also said that in the event of Hamas not taking a “reasonable” approach, “there is going to be some action taken” by Israel.