US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East pledged to pressure Israel to resume humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in exchange for the Palestinian group Hamas releasing American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported Monday.
The commitment by Steve Witkoff was made without Israel’s knowledge during negotiations conducted separately from Tel Aviv, said KAN.
Hamas released Alexander last week following talks led by Witkoff.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement from his office that the release occurred “without conditions to Hamas” and was due to Israel’s military pressure and Trump’s diplomatic efforts.
However, the broadcaster reported Monday that Witkoff assured Hamas during the negotiations that he would urge Israel to allow aid into Gaza, a promise made without informing Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu later made a commitment to Witkoff shortly before Alexander’s release to immediately resume aid without public or media disclosure, KAN said.
Separately, The Washington Post reported Monday citing an Israeli source familiar with US-Israel relations that Trump’s team delivered a message to Israel saying “we will abandon you if you don’t stop the war.”
The Israeli military has escalated its genocide in recent days, announcing the launch of a ground operation in the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has continued to impose a systematic starvation policy on approximately 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza by sealing off all crossings to aid shipments that have been stranded at the border since March 2. The blockade has pushed the enclave into famine.
Meanwhile, indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel are underway in Qatar in a renewed effort to reach a ceasefire and agree on a prisoner exchange.
However, KAN reported earlier Monday that the talks have made no progress and that Tel Aviv is considering pulling its delegation from Doha “unless there is an exceptional development in the negotiations.”
Hamas has repeatedly expressed its readiness to release all Israeli captives at once, on the condition that Israel halts its military campaign, withdraws from Gaza and frees Palestinian prisoners.
Netanyahu has continued to set new conditions, the latest being the disarmament of Palestinian resistance factions. Hamas and other groups have rejected the demand, insisting that as long as the Israeli occupation continues, disarmament is not negotiable.
The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.