Washington, MINA – US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet soon with Hamas’s Chief Negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, according to a report published on Friday.
A date for the meeting has not yet been set, the New York Times reported, citing two anonymous sources, who added that the plan could change. One official said Witkoff is working to discuss the ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been in effect since October.
Quoting Anadolu, the meeting would indicate that Witkoff is undeterred by Israeli and American criticism that US engagement with Hamas lends unwarranted legitimacy to the group.
Neither the White House nor Hamas responded to requests for comment.
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However, this meeting would not be the first between Witkoff and al-Hayya. They first met in October ahead of the signing of the ceasefire agreement, and Witkoff said he sympathized with al-Hayya over their shared experience of losing a son.
Witkoff’s son, Andrew, died of an opioid overdose in 2011. Himam al-Hayya was killed in an Israeli strike in Doha, Qatar, in September that targeted Khalil al-Hayya and other senior Hamas officials.
“I told him that I had lost a son, and that we were both members of a really bad club, parents who have buried their children,” Witkoff said in an interview with the CBS television program 60 Minutes.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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