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The administration of US President Donald Trump is holding direct talks with representatives of the Hamas terrorist organisation to free American hostages held in the Gaza Strip and to reach a broader agreement to end the war. This was reported by Axios.
According to sources, the talks are being conducted by Trump’s special envoy Adam Beller. This is an unprecedented step for Washington, as the United States has officially recognised Hamas as a terrorist organisation since 1997 and has previously avoided any direct contact.
Negotiations have been taking place in Doha for several weeks now, but no agreements have been reached so far.
According to journalists, the United States consulted with Israel on the possibility of dialogue with the militants, but the Israeli leadership learned about the specific details of the talks with Hamas through other channels.
Today, at least one American hostage remains alive in the Gaza Strip – Edan Alexander. In addition to him, militants are holding the bodies of US and Israeli citizens: Itay Chen, Gad Haggai, Judy Weinstein and Omer Neitru.
It is also reported that another representative of the Trump administration, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, was scheduled to meet with the Prime Minister of Qatar in Doha this week, but the visit was postponed due to the lack of significant progress in negotiations on the release of hostages.
These talks are causing a significant resonance, as for the first time in many years, the United States has actually entered into direct contact with an organisation that it has itself recognised as a terrorist organisation in order to save its citizens and attempt to end the bloody conflict in the Middle East.
