U.S. and Hamas officials held talks in Qatar about hostages held in the Gaza Strip, breaking with a long-running American policy of refusing to directly engage with the militant group, according to an Israeli official and a diplomat briefed on the matter.
Adam Boehler, President Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, participated in the talks this week with Hamas officials, the diplomat said. Both people discussed the meetings on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive diplomacy.
The scope of the discussions was not immediately clear, but mediators have been seeking to extend the current truce between Israel and Hamas and free the remaining hostages in Gaza. About 24 living hostages — including Edan Alexander, an American citizen — and the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza, according to Israel.
The secret talks, which Axios first confirmed, marked a significant departure from previous negotiations involving the United States and Hamas, which the U.S. government has for decades designated as a terrorist group. American officials, like their Israeli counterparts, have generally relied on mediators to relay messages to the group rather than sit down with Hamas leaders.
U.S. and European officials hoped the no-contact policy with Hamas would isolate and weaken the group after it seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Critics occasionally questioned the effectiveness of the boycott, which continued through years of deadlock and little apparent shift in Hamas’s positions.
Since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, ignited the war in Gaza, mediators including Qatar and Egypt have played major roles in brokering efforts to end the fighting and free Israeli and other hostages seized by Palestinian militants.
Hamas and its allies seized about 250 captives during the attack on southern Israel, according to the Israeli government. More than 100 were freed during a weeklong truce in late 2023, while another 30 — and the bodies of eight more — have been released since the current cease-fire began in mid-January.
Israel and Hamas are currently deadlocked over terms for the current deal’s second phase: a comprehensive truce that would end the war and free the remaining living hostages still held by Palestinian militants in Gaza.
President Trump nominated Mr. Boehler to serve as a special envoy on hostage affairs in early December. A health care executive who held roles in Mr. Trump’s first administration, Mr. Boehler has yet to be confirmed to the job by the U.S. Senate.
The State Department had no immediate comment. The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to comment and Hamas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ed Wong and David E. Sanger contributed reporting from Washington.
