From the Liveblog of
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Report: US submitted request to mediators for direct meeting with Hamas on American hostages
Arab diplomatic sources tell Emirati outlet Erem News that the US has submitted a request to mediators for direct discussions with Hamas on the issue of hostages, with the aim of securing the release of US-Israeli Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other dual nationals.
Unnamed sources tell Erem News that the US request for a direct meeting with an official from the Palestinian terror group was submitted to a mediator last week and could take place within the next few days.
The sources told the outlet that they did not know what the US could offer the terror group in return for the release of Alexander and the bodies of Judih Weinstein and her husband Gadi Haggai, Omer Neutra and Itay Chen.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler said “it is possible” that his direct talks with Hamas could resume.
The interview was Boehler’s first on the Israel-Hamas conflict in several weeks, following uproar in Jerusalem over unprecedented direct negotiations he held with Hamas officials to try to secure the release of Alexander and the bodies of the hostages.
Israel found out about those talks after the fact, leading Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to hold an angry call with Boehler, knocking him for negotiating on Israel’s behalf without keeping Jerusalem in the loop, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel last week.
But Boehler said in the Wednesday interview that the offer he made in early March for the five American hostages was “coordinated with Israel.”
Hamas released a propaganda video on Sunday in which a gaunt and emotional Alexander pleaded with the Israeli and US governments to secure his release, after over a year and a half in captivity.
On Monday, Hamas claimed to have lost contact with the operatives holding Alexander in Gaza following an Israeli strike. It has not provided further updates on the matter.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.