Direct meetings with Hamas were very helpful: U.S. Envoy

Adam Boehler, U.S. Envoy for hostage affairs, Sunday said direct meetings with Palestinian Resistance Group, Hamas, have been “very helpful”.

Washington/Doha: Adam Boehler, U.S. Special Envoy for hostage affairs, Sunday said the direct meetings with Palestinian Resistance Group, Hamas, have been “very helpful”.

"US meetings directly with Hamas were very helpful, and I did not rule out additional meetings to negotiate with them", he said.

Boehler, who was originally tasked to negotiate the release of American hostages, said he is optimistic all hostages would be released, Boehler said in an interview on the NBC News programme Meet the Press.

"I believe we can release all captives, not just Americans", he said.

He also said Gaza ceasfire deal would be finalised soon.

"A deal regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the captives may be reached within weeks", he said.

The Zionists had earlier criticised the United States for directly engaging with Hamas.

Direct talks between the US Special Envoy, Adam Boehler, and Hamas broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups the US brands as “terrorist” organisations.

Second Round of Gaza Ceasefire Talks

In another important development, Israeli delegation headed to Doha in Qatar for the second round of Gaza ceasefire talks on Monday.

The move followed after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said it “accepted the invitation of US-backed mediators” to visit Qatar.

On Saturday, a Hamas delegation met Egyptian officials in Cairo to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

“The delegation emphasised the necessity of adhering to all terms of the agreement proceeding immediately to initiate negotiations for the second phase, opening the border crossings, and allowing the entry of relief materials into Gaza without any restrictions or conditions,” it said in a statement.

In earlier comments, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said a day earlier that “indicators are positive regarding the start of negotiations for the second phase”.

[With inputs from Al Jazeera]

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