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White House confirms talks between US, Hamas

Axios reported earlier, citing sources, that the Trump administration was engaged in secret direct talks with Hamas on the release of American hostages and a broader ceasefire deal for the Gaza Strip

WASHINGTON, March 5. /TASS/. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed that Washington is in talks with the Palestinian movement Hamas.

When asked at a briefing about what had driven the Donald Trump administration to engage in talks with Hamas, Leavitt said that Trump’s special envoy "does have the authority to talk to anyone." "Israel was consulted on this matter," she stressed. According to the press secretary, the US president is "talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people."

"These are ongoing talks and discussions. I'm not going to detail them here," Leavitt added.

Axios reported earlier, citing sources, that the Trump administration was engaged in secret direct talks with Hamas on the release of American hostages and a broader ceasefire deal for the Gaza Strip. According to the media outlet, the talks, involving US presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler, took place in the Qatari capital of Doha. Axios pointed out that "the US had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organization in 1997."

In mid-January, Egypt, Qatar and the US brokered an agreement between Israel and Hamas to release the hostages held in Gaza and declare a ceasefire in the enclave. The truce took effect on January 19. The first phase of the deal ended on March 1. All the living Israeli hostages and the bodies of those deceased that were supposed to be handed over in the first stage were returned to Israel. In exchange, Israel released over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners.

On March 2, Israel suspended humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and closed all checkpoints, citing Hamas’s refusal to accept US Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s plan to continue Gaza ceasefire talks.

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