The U.S. envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, confirmed he had held direct negotiations with seniorHamas officials, sparking criticism from both Israeli officials and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
Israeli cabinet ministers called Boehler’s statements in a series of interviews on Sunday "unnecessary," while Friedman sharply condemned the Trump administration official’s actions.
Following the backlash, and possibly other reprimands, Boehler posted a clarification on social media: "I want to be clear because some misunderstood—Hamas is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of innocent people. By definition, they are bad actors. As President Trump said, no Hamas member will be safe unless Hamas releases all the hostages immediately."
Friedman, in a separate post, criticized Boehler’s diplomatic approach. "Over the past week, President Trump brilliantly presented Hamas with a binary choice—release all the hostages and surrender, or be destroyed. That is the only way to end the war," Friedman wrote. "If I understood Boehler’s comments today correctly, he took the unprecedented step of meeting with Hamas to explore a third option—whether Hamas could be 'involved' in governing Gaza."
Friedman dismissed any negotiations with Hamas as futile, writing, "A deal with Hamas is a waste of time and will never hold. Attempting one is beneath the dignity of the United States. Adam, I know you mean well—but listen to your boss. The choice must remain binary."
Meanwhile, theIsraeli cabinetconvened ahead of a planned delegation trip to Qatar for hostage negotiations. Ministers were briefed on the mission but were not asked to formally approve a mandate. The delegation is expected to explore a framework proposed by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, which includes the release of 10 hostages, including U.S. citizen Idan Alexander, in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire and renewed humanitarian aid to Gaza. Those hostages are reported to be suffering from torture in Hamas captivity.
Boehler revealed details of Hamas' proposals during his direct talks, hinting that the U.S. is not ruling out a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel. His statements appeared to partially confirm reports from Israeli sources that negotiations to free American hostages had failed.
In an interview with Israel’s Kan News, Boehler said Hamas had offered a deal involving "the release of all hostages and prisoners, along with a five- to ten-year cease-fire, during which Hamas would disarm, and the U.S., along with other countries, would ensure there are no more tunnels or military activity, and that Hamas would no longer be involved in politics." He did not rule out the possibility of a hostage release in the near future, saying, "If I’m optimistic, I’d say weeks."
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Boehler left open the possibility of further meetings with Hamas, stating that "something could happen regarding Gaza and the hostages within weeks," without elaborating. His remarks followed anIsraeli official’sassertion that the talks had not yielded progress.
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הכנות ברצועת עזה לקראת שחרור חטופיםהכנות ברצועת עזה לקראת שחרור חטופים
Hamas terrorists in Gaza
(Photo: AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Boehler also acknowledged Israel’s frustration over Washington’s contacts with Hamas. "I understand why the Israelis are upset, but we are the United States—we are not Israel’s agents, and we have our own interests," he said. He added that his meetings with Hamas representatives had been authorized by President Trump and were "very useful in advancing the release of the hostages."
During Sunday’s cabinet meeting, several ministers reiterated their criticism of Boehler, arguing that such diplomatic efforts should be coordinated with Israel. However, others downplayed the controversy, saying the focus should be on the upcoming Doha talks based on Witkoff’s framework.
The cabinet did not discuss Defense Minister Israel Katz’s proposal to prepare for the relocation of Gaza’s population to a third country. The meeting was also the first attended by new IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who was welcomed by ministers and appeared to have good rapport with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, recently removed by Netanyahu as head of Israel’s negotiating team, was absent from the session.
During the meeting, Minister for Settlements and National Missions Orit Strock urged Zamir to halt the deployment of female soldiers to guard Hamas prisoners. "We worked hard to end the practice of female conscripts guarding security prisoners in Israeli prisons," she told Zamir. "Now I am asking you personally to stop this intolerable situation."