JAKARTA - The United States Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff said Hamas' offer on Friday regarding the release of American-Israeli hostages Edan Alexander was "impossible," warning of consequences if he did not accept the intermediary proposal he submitted over the weekend.
Witkoff was questioned during an interview at CNN's "State of the Union" event about Hamas' announcement, they have agreed to release Alexander and the bodies of four dual nationals.
"Hamas proposals are impossible," he replied, launching The Times of Israel March 16.
"I think there is a chance for them, but that opportunity will soon be closed," Witkoff said, pointing to a massive US attack on the target of the Houthi rebels in Yemen over the weekend.
He said the attack showed "our position in terms of terrorism and our level of tolerance for terrorist acts."
"I will encourage Hamas to be wiser than ever before," Witkoff warned.
Witkoff revealed that he spent seven and a half hours meeting negotiators in Doha, Qatar last Wednesday. The discussions resulted in the preparation of an "intermediary proposal", which Witkoff said for the first time would release five surviving Israeli hostages, including Alexander, in exchange for "a large number of Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli prisons, which would be a great deal for these Palestinian families."
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The details of Witkoff's offer appear to be in line with what has been widely reported in recent days, but contradicts those given late Saturday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office, who said the proposal envisions the release of 11 surviving hostages.
President Trump's envoy said Israel had been notified and consulted beforehand.
Hamas took two or three days to respond, "which is their usual way," he said, and gave an "unacceptable" response.
However, he refused to explain the reason.
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