US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Wednesday in Istanbul with senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya to discuss efforts to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza, an Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel.
It will be Witkoff’s second meeting with Hayya, after the US envoy met with senior members of Hamas’s ceasefire negotiating team, along with fellow Trump adviser Jared Kushner, hours before an agreement was inked in Egypt on October 9.
Witkoff has claimed that Hamas leaders committed during that meeting to disarm — something the terror group has publicly insisted it will not do.
The planned meeting highlights Washington’s desire to maintain a direct line of communication with the terror group after it long used intermediaries, such as Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.
Plans to hold the meeting were first reported by the New York Times on Friday, while the date and location were first reported by Channel 12 news.
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