‘That’s the best they’re going to get. And they should take on the offer,’ said special envoy Adam Boehler on Sunday.
The Trump administration’s special envoy for hostage affairs said in a Sunday interview that the Hamas terrorist group should “take the deal” laid out by Israel to move closer to a peace agreement.
During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, special envoy Adam Boehler said that Hamas should accept the current proposed plan from Israel that involves the Islamist terror group releasing some remaining hostages that it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks to move forward.
“I would say Israel at this point is bending over backward,” he told the outlet. “They’re redrawing maps. At this point, what you do is you say, ‘Look, we’re going to take this deal. We’re going to let at least 10 hostages go. We have got two dead Americans there … we need to get those Americans out. We need to get the other hostages.
“There’s a firm pathway to negotiate peace. That’s the best they’re going to get. And they should take on the offer, take the offer that’s there. They haven’t in the past,” Boehler said, referring to Hamas.
“Every single time they don’t take it, it goes down and goes down and goes down. So, my recommendation to Hamas would be, take the deal that Israel, that the United States is offering you. Let’s get some people home. And let’s move to end this conflict.”
It came as Hamas spokesperson Abu Ubaida said in a televised speech on July 18 that the group wants a truce on the conflict in Gaza but said that Israel has refused the group’s offers to release the hostages.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Ubaida.
But Boehler told CNN that he is “optimistic” about an Israeli agreement with Hamas following the recent military strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leadership.
“The Israelis want something done,” he said. “Now, I will tell you, because I have been with them, Hamas is very hardheaded. They have been offered many things that they should take, and it’s time for Hamas to release the hostages.
