When news of the US and Hamas holding direct talks it sounded like Israel was alright with it, but apparently that wasn’t the case as we’re told in a report from The Times Of Israel:

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer “lashed out” at US hostage envoy Adam Boehler during a Tuesday phone call held after Israel learned of an unprecedented meeting that the Trump aide held with a senior Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya earlier that day in Doha to discuss the potential release of American hostages from Gaza, a Western official told The Times of Israel on Friday.

Dermer fumed over Boehler discussing the number of Palestinian prisoners Israel would release in exchange for the five American hostages without Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s consent, the official said, confirming reporting in the Axios news site.

The US envoy tried to dial back the tension some:

Boehler tried to explain that these were only initial discussions with Hamas and that nothing would be finalized without Israel’s approval, the Western official said.

Hours after the tense call was held, Boehler’s meeting with Hayya was leaked to the media, in a move that the US believes Israel was behind and which has led to a further decrease in trust between the sides, the Western official added.

The idea was brought up earlier and was opposed by Netanyahu:

The US decision not to loop Israel in ahead of the Tuesday meeting came after Netanyahu expressed his opposition to the idea when it was first proposed to him by the Trump administration last month, the official said. Axios noted that Israel was particularly against such a meeting without any preconditions for Hamas to meet.

The US went ahead with the meetings with other Hamas leaders without Israel knowing:

Tuesday’s wasn’t the first meeting that Boehler held with Hamas officials, Axios revealed, adding that the Trump envoy met with a lower level delegation of officials from the terror group a week earlier in Doha but that Israel ostensibly didn’t get wind of that meeting.

The US talked about the last living American hostage and the bodies of four other Americans:

The meetings largely focused on securing the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, along with the bodies of American-Israeli hostages Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai and Judith Weinstein. The sit-downs also included discussions on a broader deal between Israel and Hamas to release all remaining hostages and end the war sparked by the terror group’s October 2023 massacre in southern Israel, the Western official said.

Regardless, Israel is not happy about the meetings and has said so:

Israel has avoided publicly criticizing the US over the direct ties with Hamas, but Netanyahu’s office issued a terse statement on Wednesday that more than hinted at its opposition. “Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas,” the statement read.

The talks with Hamas went nowhere as I knew they would. But the US got a taste of how terrorists view negotiations and according to the article, led to Trump’s post on X.

Ready And Waiting

While the diplomats try and hammer out a deal, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) is preparing to go into Gaza once more as we’re told in a report from The Jerusalem Post:

Israel's political echelon, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the IDF to prepare for an "immediate" return to fighting in Gaza, KAN News reported on Friday evening.

The IDF is told that in about 10 or so days they are back to fighting:

The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this week that Israeli officials estimated that if no agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas, Israel would return to fighting in Gaza in about a week and a half.

This is based on a deal proposed by the US as a way to get to the second phase of the current deal. Hamas appears to be rejecting it:

“Hamas is currently rejecting [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff’s proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress,” one official said.

The offer is pretty simple as we’ve heard before:

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Witkoff’s plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the continued deal. The rest of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.

Hamas is stalling as they always do:

However, some claim that the terrorist organization has not rejected the proposal. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal.”

The new IDF Chief of Staff is readying his troops regardless:

On his first day as the new IDF chief of staff on Thursday, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir told heads of local councils from the Gaza border communities that "we are preparing to return to fighting" in Gaza.

His goals are pretty simple as well:

"We must defeat Hamas," Zamir said. "We are also preparing to resume fighting. The hostages are our top priority."

The US Could Join Fight

All of these negotiations and preparations are also occurring at the same time as the US and Israel held a joint military drill over the Mediterranean Sea which could be a way to let Iran know something could happen there. But we also hear that America could help Israel in Gaza as we read in an article from the Jewish News Syndicate:

Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, told reporters on Thursday that the United States and Israel could take joint military action against Hamas if negotiations with the terrorist group fail.

Speaking with journalists outside the White House, Witkoff was asked if there was a deadline to advance a deal to release more hostages before Israel resumes combat operations in the Gaza Strip.

“There definitely is such a date, but I’m not at liberty to discuss what that is,” Witkoff said. “It’s unclear exactly what’s going to happen. I think there’s going to be some action taken. It could be jointly with the Israelis.”

When Witkoff said jointly he was immediately asked what that meant:

In a follow-up question, Witkoff said that any action would “principally come from the Israelis” but with “very, very strong physical and emotional support from the United States.”

President Trump offered his opinion on what was next:

U.S. President Donald Trump ruled out giving cash payments to the terrorist group while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. He responded ambiguously when asked about a potential joint U.S.-Israeli strike.

“You’re gonna find out,” Trump said. “Somebody’s gonna have to get a lot rougher than they’re getting.”

Witkoff indicated that they aren’t strictly going to follow the original three phase agreement:

Witkoff indicated that the White House is no longer concerned with the strict three-phase parameters that the Biden administration negotiated after Trump issued a “last warning” to Hamas on Wednesday to “release all of the hostages now.”

“People define it as ‘an extension of Phase 1,’ or ‘Phase 2.’ I don’t really care what we call it,” Witkoff said. “What we call it is: Are we going to have a resolution? Are we going to have a peace deal? Are we going to get all of those hostages home, which is the aim of the Trump administration?”

He went on to say that Hamas isn’t being honest about negotiation, something that hardly surprises me. He did hope they come around, but also gave the main reason they aren’t cooperating:

Witkoff said Hamas hasn’t been “forthright” so far in its negotiations but expressed hope that its behavior would improve.

“Hamas has an opportunity to act reasonably, to do what’s right and then to walk out,” he said. “They’re not going to be a part of a government there.”

Witkoff surely has to know that Hamas is all about surviving to fight another day. But he continues to think that they can get all the hostages and bodies back:

U.S. officials have emphasized the need for Hamas to release American hostages, of which one is believed to be alive and another four dead, but Witkoff said that “all lives matter” to the negotiators.

“We estimate 22, maybe 24 live bodies,” he said. “We want them all back, and we want the bodies back, too. These parents, who know that their children are gone or their relatives are gone, they need those bodies. They need to go and bury their children properly.”

That sounds good, but President Trump sounds like they are trying his patience and Witkoff gave us hints that America is ready to get involved if only to get back the remaining living American hostage. If I was Hamas, I’d be reconsidering their difficult stance. I doubt they will though.