Witkoff: Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side — it is not

US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff goes public with many of the key terms of a “bridge proposal” he submitted on Wednesday in Doha, while dismissing as disingenuous the announcement Hamas made earlier today that it had agreed to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.

Witkoff demands that Hamas immediately release the 20-year-old soldier, and suggests that he has given the terror group a deadline for doing so, warning of consequences if that unspecified date passes.

“Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not. Hamas is well aware of the deadline, and should know that we will respond accordingly if that deadline passes,” the top Trump aide warns.

Witkoff makes the revelation in a rare statement, which begins by recalling US President Donald Trump’s recent ultimatum to Hamas to immediately release all hostages “or pay a severe price.”

Witkoff reveals that on Wednesday, he and White House National Security Council Mideast director Eric Trager arrived in Doha and presented a “bridge proposal” to extend the current Gaza ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Passover, which ends on April 19.

This “phase one extension” will allow for additional time for Israel and Hamas to negotiate a permanent ceasefire, he says.

The deal between Israel and Hamas inked in January was supposed to transition from phase one to phase two on March 2, but for nearly one month, Israel refused to hold negotiations on the terms of phase two, which would require Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war.

Accepting Israel’s stance, Witkoff’s “bridge proposal” offers that phase one be extended and that Hamas release living hostages in exchange for prisoners. Witkoff doesn’t reveal the exact numbers but says the swap will be “in accordance with previous formulas.”

An Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel yesterday that the deal would see five living hostages released.

The phase one extension offered by Witkoff would also see the resumption of humanitarian aid delivery into Gaza, which Israel halted at the original end date of the first phase about two weeks ago, with the subsequent backing of the Trump administration.