Rumors that the US is secretly working with Hamas, Washington accuses Israel of revealing secrets?

Recently, the US and Israeli media have been speculating that the administration of US President Donald Trump has had secret negotiations with Hamas.

Houses in Gaza destroyed during Israeli attacks, pictured in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, March 5 (Source: Reuters)

The secret talks are aimed at securing the release of US citizens held hostage in Gaza as well as the possibility of reaching a more comprehensive agreement to end the conflict, Axios news site reported, citing sources.

The White House later confirmed that the US was negotiating directly with Hamas and affirmed that it had consulted Israel on the issue. However, Washington refused to comment on the specific content of the negotiations.

According to Ynet news agency, Israel was not informed in advance about the contacts between the US and Hamas, as a similar meeting had been canceled under pressure from Israel. Therefore, the US decided to negotiate directly with Hamas, despite Israel's objections.

Israeli officials later discovered this information and reported it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Soon after, information about the negotiations appeared in the media.

Ynet reported that the US accused Israel of leaking information with the aim of sabotaging the negotiations due to fear of being sidelined by Washington in resolving issues related to the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Russia's RIA news agency quoted Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua as saying that the force could not confirm information about direct negotiations with the US to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

"We have no precise information about the negotiations, but Hamas is implementing the US-brokered agreement," al-Qanoua said.

The US should pressure Israel to start negotiating the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, a Hamas spokesman said, stressing that this would help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“Hamas is ready to consider any initiative that could move the negotiations to a second phase… Hamas has shown flexibility every time it releases prisoners early, but Israel is holding back,” he added.

Also related to the Gaza situation, on the same day, March 6, US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff praised Egypt for coming up with a plan to rebuild this Mediterranean strip of land, noting that "further discussion is needed".

In addition, Mr. Witkoff said, President Trump has succeeded in “encouraging” other countries in the Middle East to “come forward with proactive proposals about what we might consider.”

However, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters that the proposed deal “does not meet the requirements that President Trump has put forth.”

The extraordinary Arab summit on March 5 in Cairo approved a $53 billion plan to rebuild Gaza, rejecting President Trump's proposal to rebuild Gaza as a "Middle Eastern Riviera" and relocate Palestinians to Egypt, Jordan and other Arab-Muslim countries.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/phong-thanh-tin-my-hanh-dong-am-tham-cung-hamas-washington-cao-buoc-israel-lam-lo-bi-mat-306643.html