Backchannel helped secure release of American-Israeli hostage, sources tell ToI
Witkoff was kept in loop about talks 3rd-party mediator held with Hamas that managed to convince the terror group to free the 21-year-old unconditionally after weeks of pushback
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
A third-party mediator operated a backchannel between the United States and Hamas that helped secure the agreement to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, a source familiar with the matter and a Palestinian official revealed to The Times of Israel on Sunday.
The backchannel was operated by a non-governmental individual who passed along messages between Hamas’s leadership in Qatar and US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, the sources said, while declining to reveal the identity of the person on the record.
The backchannel was opened last month, with the person urging Hamas to release Alexander unconditionally, telling the terror group that the move would go a long way with the Trump administration and potentially open the door to Washington coaxing Israel to agree to a deal that would bring about an end to the war in Gaza in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages — a trade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until now rejected, arguing that it would leave Hamas in power.
Hamas for weeks pushed back against freeing Alexander unconditionally and presented the third-party backchannel with proposals that would have seen Israel take various steps in exchange for the 21-year-old’s release.
The go-between warned Hamas last week that such offers wouldn’t fly and that time was not on the group’s side, with Israel planning to launch a major operation to gradually re-occupy the entire Gaza Strip once US President Donald Trump wraps up his trip to the region on Friday. Trump will depart on Monday for Saudi Arabia before making stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He is not slated to visit Israel on this trip.
Over the weekend, Hamas informed the go-between that it had agreed to release Alexander unconditionally but wanted Witkoff to know that the step should not be viewed as a one-off, the sources said. Hamas stressed to the mediator that it was ready to work with the Trump administration to secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza with security arrangements in order to ensure a yearslong calm until a final settlement of the conflict is reached, the sources said.
Hamas also told the US via the backchannel that it needed to locate Alexander. Last month, it released a propaganda video showing Alexander alive. Two days later, the group claimed it had lost contact with his captors after an Israeli airstrike.
On Sunday, Hamas told the mediator that it had found Alexander and was prepared to move ahead with his release. The negotiator, in turn told Hamas to inform Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani of the decision. The Qatari premier then called Witkoff to confirm that Alexander’s release would be moving ahead.
Witkoff then called Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to inform them of the development, the US official said. Israel then agreed to temporary halt some of its military operations, including drone surveillance of the Strip in the lead-up and during Alexander’s release on Monday, the source familiar with the matter said.
After receiving the news from Witkoff, Alexander’s parents took off for Israel from the US on Sunday night and were accompanied by US hostage envoy Adam Boehler.
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement early Monday morning claiming that Alexander’s release was made possible due to Israel’s military pressure in Gaza. It stressed that Israel did not agree to a ceasefire or to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Alexander — only to provide a safe corridor to allow for his release.
In an earlier statement attributed to an “Israeli official,” Netanyahu’s office said that it was still prepared to accept the so-called “Witkoff proposal” through which Hamas agrees to release half of the hostages up front in exchange for a weekslong truce during which the sides agree to hold talks on the terms of a permanent end to the war.
Such talks were supposed to have been held during the previous agreement that the sides signed in January, but Netanyahu largely refused to engage in such negotiations, amid pressure from his far-right coalition partners who threatened to collapse his government if he agreed to end the war.
Accordingly, Hamas has insisted on ironclad guarantees, such as a UN Security Council resolution, in order to ensure that Israel holds those talks and agrees to end the war.
In addition to releasing the hostages, Israel is demanding that Hamas dismantle its governing and military capabilities. While the group has said it is prepared to forgo control of the Strip to an independent committee of Palestinian technocrats, it has held off on the demand to permanently disarm.
The Times of Israel Community.