The Trump administration has been conducting secret talks with the militant Palestinian group Hamas in an effort to secure the release of US hostages still held in Gaza, two sources briefed on the conversations said.
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US hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler has the authority to negotiate directly with Hamas, the White House said when asked about the discussions, which run counter to long-standing policy against negotiating with groups that the US has designated as terrorist organisations.
Boehler and Hamas officials met in Doha in recent weeks, the sources said. It was not clear who represented Hamas.
The US had long avoided direct engagement with the Islamist group, which carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a devastating Gaza war. The US State Department designated Hamas a terrorist organisation in 1997.
The previous US role in helping to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza conflict has been dealing with Israel and Qatari and Egyptian mediators but without any known direct communications between Washington and Hamas.
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Axios was first to report on the Doha discussions.