The encounter was meant to include additional senior Hamas officials and continue quiet back-channel talks on the Gaza ceasefire.
By Gila Isaacson, JFeed
A high-level meeting scheduled for today (Wednesday) in the Turkish capital between White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya was suddenly scrapped, according to Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen, citing Palestinian sources.
The reason: intense Israeli pressure. The encounter was meant to include additional senior Hamas officials and continue quiet back-channel talks on a possible hostage deal and Gaza ceasefire.
Witkoff and al-Hayya met in Cairo last month (a meeting that also involved Jared Kushner), during which Witkoff offered personal condolences over the death of al-Hayya’s son, revealing he too had lost a son to an opioid overdose at age 22.
The abrupt cancellation marks the latest twist in the Trump administration’s controversial direct outreach to Hamas political leadership – an approach Israel has repeatedly condemned.