U.S. Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday blamed Hamas for disingenuously stalling negotiations over an extended ceasefire in Gaza, making “impractical” demands.
“Unfortunately, Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire,” Witkoff said in a statement in the wake of a new proposal formulated by Washington.
“Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not,” the envoy warned. “Hamas is well aware of the deadline and should know that we will respond accordingly if that deadline passes.”
On March 6, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to the Gaza-based terrorist organization, saying that it must release the remaining hostages or else there will be “HELL TO PAY LATER!”
“President Trump has made it clear that Hamas will either release hostages immediately, or pay a severe price,” Witkoff said in his latest statement.
He further said that he and Eric Trager, the U.S. National Security Council’s senior director for the Middle East, proposed on Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, to extend an Israel-Hamas truce beyond Ramadan and Passover as a “bridge” toward talks over a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas was told via the Qatari and Egyptian mediators that this “bridge proposal” must be accepted “quickly” and that Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who also has American citizenship, must be released “immediately,” Witkoff continued.
The four other men with American citizenship still held in the Gaza Strip are believed to be dead.
Although the details of the proposal were not disclosed, it is believed to parallel the terms of Phase 1 of the ceasefire deal—with a small number of living hostages released in exchange for dozens or more Palestinian terrorists on a weekly basis.
Moreover, Witkoff said, a ceasefire extension would see the alleviation of Israel’s suspension of aid into the Gaza Strip.
Earlier on Friday, Hamas claimed that it had agreed to the release of Alexander and the bodies of four hostages with dual citizenship.
However, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which accepted the U.S. proposal, dismissed the Islamists’ announcement, saying it remained “firm in its refusal and has not budged a millimeter,” adding that Hamas was engaged in “manipulation and psychological warfare.”
Israel and Hamas cemented in January a three-stage ceasefire agreement that involved the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons.
Phase 1 ended at midnight on the night of March 1; talks on Phase 2 were supposed to enable the continuation of the ceasefire, with more releases of hostages and further withdrawals from the Gaza Strip of Israeli troops.
In the first stage of the deal, 33 live hostages were freed—25 Israelis and five Thais—as well as the remains of eight others. In exchange, the Jewish state released about 1,800 Palestinian terrorists.
Today there remain 59 abductees in Gaza, of whom 24 are believed to be alive, according to Israeli estimates.
