White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed that Washington is in talks with the Palestinian movement Hamas, Report informs via TASS.
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."