The New York Times reports that US envoy Steve Witkoff is preparing to meet senior Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya as part of ongoing ceasefire diplomacy.
The United States envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, is planning to meet soon with senior Hamas official and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, according to a report published on Friday by The New York Times.
Citing “two people familiar with Mr. Witkoff’s plans,” the newspaper said that Witkoff intends to hold direct talks with al-Hayya, a leading figure in Hamas’s political leadership and a key negotiator in the current ceasefire framework in Gaza.
The exact date of the meeting “is still not clear,” the report noted, and “it was also possible that the plans would change,” given the sensitivity of the talks.
If held, the meeting would mark another step in the Trump administration’s quiet but sustained engagement with Hamas, despite the fact that Washington officially designates the movement a foreign terrorist organization.
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According to The New York Times, “a meeting between Mr. Witkoff and Mr. al-Hayya would underscore that the Trump administration is interested in keeping a direct line of communication with Hamas, even though the United States has designated the group a foreign terrorist organization.”
The report added that such a move “would also illustrate that Mr. Witkoff is not deterred by Israeli and American critics who say that U.S. engagement with Hamas offers the group unwarranted legitimacy.”
Ceasefire and Prisoner Exchange on the Agenda
According to the report, one of the key issues on the table will be the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the ongoing negotiations over detainees.
“In October, Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal for a cease-fire in Gaza and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners,” the report recalled, noting that “the agreement has held together despite flare-ups in violence.”
A person familiar with Witkoff’s travel plans told the paper that “one of the topics Mr. Witkoff intends to raise with the senior Hamas official is the cease-fire in Gaza,” including the implementation of the prisoner-exchange arrangements and mechanisms to prevent further escalation.
The Times also reported that a representative for Witkoff “declined to comment,” as did Hamas officials. “The White House did not respond to an inquiry,” the paper added, underlining the sensitivity of the contacts.
Previous Secret Contacts
This would not be the first encounter between Witkoff and al-Hayya. The New York Times revealed that the pair have already met at least once before.
“Mr. Witkoff and Mr. al-Hayya have met before,” the report said. “The first known time was in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in October before the signing of the cease-fire deal. That meeting was also attended by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law who helped broker the cease-fire.”
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That earlier round of talks, held behind closed doors in the Egyptian resort, appears to have been instrumental in shaping the current ceasefire framework between Israel and Hamas, which includes arrangements on prisoner exchanges and limits on Israeli military operations in Gaza.
‘Shared Grief’
Witkoff has presented part of his outreach to Hamas as grounded in personal experience and shared grief.
In an interview broadcast on October 19 on CBS’s 60 Minutes, he described offering condolences to al-Hayya for the death of the Hamas official’s son, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
“He said he had offered condolences to Mr. al-Hayya for the loss of his son in September, when the Israeli air force fired missiles at a compound in Qatar where Hamas officials were meeting,” the Times reported.
Quoting Witkoff, the article continued: “‘I told him that I had lost a son,’ he said, ‘and that we were both members of a really bad club, parents who have buried children.’”
Witkoff’s son, Andrew, died of an opioid overdose in 2011.
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Not the First Trump Official to Talk with Hamas
Witkoff is not the only Trump administration official to have held talks with Hamas representatives.
“Mr. Witkoff is not the first Trump administration official to have met with Hamas,” the Times said.
“Adam Boehler, the U.S. envoy for hostage response, met with Hamas officials several times in Qatar in March in an effort to press for the release of a dual American Israeli citizen who was held captive by the group at the time.”
“Those talks did not result in a deal,” the paper added.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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more fake news, propaganda, psychological terrorism. Twitkoff is only going to tell them to disarm. He’s useless, this is all just more bullsh!t. Stop appealing to the people who have consistently tried for peace, but were vetoed BY THE USA, and go talk to the Jewish Nazis who keep murdering children! pretty simple…