Upon arriving in Saudi Arabia today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed last week’s unprecedented direct negotiations between officials from the United States and representatives of the Hamas terrorist group.
Speaking to reporters, Rubio explained that the discussions were a unique occurrence and not indicative of an ongoing policy shift. “That was a one-off situation in which our special envoy for hostages, whose job it is to get people released, had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over these people and was given permission and encouraged to do so. He did so,” he said.
Rubio further noted that the talks led by Trump’s hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, with Hamas officials had not yielded any concrete results. “He did so,” Rubio said, emphasizing that the effort had not “borne fruit.”
Additionally, the Secretary of State stressed that the U.S. remains committed to securing the release of the hostages and will continue working on the matter through special envoy Steve Witkoff, along with support from other nations involved in mediation efforts.
Israeli government officials have engaged in discussions with their Trump administration counterparts to clarify the nature of Boehler’s communications with Hamas regarding the hostages held in Gaza.
As reported by Kan Reshet Bet, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and his team informed the Israeli cabinet on Sunday that an understanding had been reached ensuring that any future discussions between Boehler and Hamas would be conducted with full coordination between Washington and Israel.
Ministers were briefed that “the issue has been solved,” signaling that both governments are now aligned on how to handle such diplomatic interactions moving forward.
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