President Donald Trump’s U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said that Hamas is being “completely unacceptable” in talks to broker a hostage and ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Witkoff said in an interview published Monday that the militants had still not accepted a deal put forward by the U.S. after Hamas claimed they did.
“What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable,” Witkoff told Axios.
His rebuke of Hamas comes as Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza killed 55 people over the weekend, including 36 children, according to local health officials, as the military continued its onslaught on the besieged Palestinian territory.
Hamas officials declared Monday that they had accepted a U.S. deal, which they claimed would see a 60-day ceasefire and the release of five live hostages on day one, followed by five more on the final day. The deal touted by Hamas also included more humanitarian aid to Gaza and the IDF withdraws its forces to the positions they were in last March, according to the militants.
Another claim the group made was that the U.S. deal included a provision that Israel “negotiate seriously” and would not resume the war as it did in the previous ceasefire. Hamas said it accepted the proposal, which differs from the one Witkoff put forward, according to Axios.
But Witkoff told the outlet that Hamas was not given a new proposal, despite their claims. Israel also dismissed the claim and said that no Israeli government would accept it.
Witkoff’s proposal reportedly outlined the release of 10 live hostages and 19 dead hostages in return for a ceasefire lasting between 45 to 60 days and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The proposal put forward by Witkoff that Israel will reportedly agree to would “lead to substantive negotiations to find a path to a permanent ceasefire, which I agreed to preside over,” the envoy told Axios. “That deal is on the table. Hamas should take it,” Witkoff added.
Israel renewed its offensive in March after ending a ceasefire with Hamas. It has vowed to seize control of Gaza and keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed, and until it returns the remaining 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, from the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war when Hamas launched a terror strike inside Israel that claimed the lives of 1,200 with another 250 taken captive into Gaza.
Progress with negotiations to end the war has been slow. Trump is said to be growing more “frustrated” and “upset” by images of suffering Palestinian children, aides told Axios.
The president said that he wants to see an end to the war “as quickly as possible.”
Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney all condemned the Israeli government’s “egregious” actions in Gaza, warning they will take “concrete actions” unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changes course.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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