Citing its private demands, Witkoff rejects Hamas offer to free Edan Alexander, 4 dead hostages
Dismissed by Israel, Hamas terms said to be belated response to its aborted direct talks with US; Trump envoy reveals details of his ‘bridge’ proposal; Rubio calls Hamas ‘savages’
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday dismissed as disingenuous a Hamas offer earlier in the day to release captive soldier Edan Alexander — the last known living American-Israeli hostage — and the remains of four unidentified dual nationals.
Rather than accepting his own “bridge proposal,” Witkoff said in a statement, “Unfortunately, Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire.”
“Through our Qatari and Egyptian partners,” he explained, “Hamas was told in no uncertain terms that this ‘bridge’ would have to be implemented soon — and that dual US-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander would have to be released immediately.”
With its response, “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 warned without elaborating.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday denounced Hamas as “savages” and said they should be treated as such.
A senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that Hamas’s proposal Friday morning was based on what the Palestinian terrorist organization discussed with US hostage envoy Adam Boehler on March 4. At the time, Hamas held off on agreeing to the proposal.
Israel was furious about being left in the dark on the direct US-Hamas talks, and leaked their existence later that day, a US official told The Times of Israel earlier this week. On Friday, Israel slammed Hamas’s delayed agreement as a ploy to avoid committing to Witkoff’s proposal to extend the ceasefire’s first phase, which expired March 2, until April 19.
The rare statement issued by Witkoff on Friday indicated that Hamas’s response to Boehler may have come too late for Washington, which was now taking a harder line on Hamas.
Witkoff went public with many of the key terms of his own “bridge proposal,” submitted to negotiators in Doha on Wednesday.
Accepting Israel’s stance, Witkoff’s “bridge proposal” would extend the ceasefire deal’s first phase and see Hamas release living hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. He did not specify how many living hostages or how many Palestinian security prisoners.
Numerous reports have suggested that the Witkoff proposal requires Hamas to release five living hostages and the remains of 10 others, but this has not been confirmed. Israel has reportedly pushed for more living hostages. There are believed to be 24 living hostages in Gaza, as well as 35 confirmed by Israel to be dead.
Witkoff revealed that he and National Security Council Mideast director Eric Trager arrived in Doha on Wednesday to present the “bridge proposal” to extend the ceasefire deal’s first phase until after Ramadan and Passover. The Muslim holy month ends on March 29, while the weeklong Jewish holiday ends April 19.
The “phase one extension” would give Israel and Hamas more time to negotiate a permanent ceasefire, said Witkoff. “The US would work toward a durable solution to this intractable conflict during the extended ceasefire period,” he said.
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.
He did not specify how many Palestinian prisoners Israel would be released for each hostage, saying only that the swap would be “in accordance with previous formulas.”
Rubio said Friday that the swaps Israel has made were “ridiculous trades — 400 people for three.”
“These are nuts,” said Rubio, speaking to reporters after a meeting with G7 counterparts in Quebec. “On top of that, you see the condition these people are being released in.”
“Our priority as the US government is always that we care about all hostages,” said Rubio. “We want all the hostages released.”
“We’re sitting around as the world, sort of accepting that it’s normal and okay for you to go into a place, kidnap babies, kidnap teenagers, kidnap people who have nothing to do with any wars, that are not soldiers… and taking them and putting them in tunnels for almost a year and a half,” said Rubio. “We’re acting like this is a normal exchange. This is an outrage. They should all be released.”
Referring to Hamas’s latest proposal, Rubio continued: “I’m not going to comment on what we’re going to accept or not accept, other than [to say that] all of us — the whole world — should continue to say that what Hamas has done is outrageous, it’s ridiculous, it’s sick, it’s disgusting.”
“We’re just dealing with some savages. That’s it. These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such,” he said.
Boehler proposal requires resumption of aid, 2nd-phase talks
Hamas’s statement on Friday did not specify the nationalities of the four slain hostages slated for release along with Alexander. However, the Arab diplomat who spoke to The Times of Israel said they were the four remaining American-Israelis in captivity — Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, Gadi Haggai and Judy Weinstein.
In exchange for Alexander and the four dead captives, Hamas is demanding a number of Palestinian prisoners, a resumption of aid delivery to Gaza and an Israeli commitment to enter talks on the ceasefire-hostage deal’s second phase, the diplomat said, confirming reporting in The New York Times.
Once Israel agrees in principle to the deal, Hamas is willing to negotiate the identities of Palestinian prisoners to be released, said the official, who revealed that the deal was Boehler’s proposal from earlier this month.
While the secret US talks with Hamas were fully coordinated with Witkoff, Boehler has been the target of Israeli ire, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer has lobbied Trump aides to have the hostage envoy barred from dealing with the issue.
A senior US official told The Times of Israel on Thursday that Boehler would continue assisting Witkoff in his efforts. However, Witkoff has been mum on the matter, and Rubio has said the direct talks with Hamas were a “one-off,” and that future negotiations would be held on the original channel led by Witkoff.
Boehler has said he hoped to break the logjam in negotiations.
The deal between Israel and Hamas that took effect on January 19 was supposed to transition from phase one to phase two on March 2, with negotiations on the second stage slated to begin on the 16th day of the first stage. However, for almost a month, Israel refused to hold negotiations on the terms of phase two, which would require Israel to withdraw fully from Gaza and agree to permanently end the war — a red line for the government’s right-wing flank.
After the first phase expired, Israel, with the White House’s subsequent backing, halted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Under the ceasefire agreement, the flow of aid was to continue as long as talks for the second phase were ongoing.
The first phase saw Hamas release 33 women, children, civilian men and those deemed “humanitarian cases,” in exchange for some 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, including over 270 serving life terms in connection with the murders of dozens of Israelis.
The second phase would see Hamas release 24 hostages still believed to be alive, including Alexander. All are young men abducted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Another 35 hostages who were confirmed by Israel to be dead are held captive in Gaza. They include 34 kidnapped in the Hamas onslaught and a soldier killed in the 2014 Gaza war. The slain captives would be returned in the deal’s potential third phase.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.