US hostage envoy Adam Boehler defended his direct talks with officials in the Hamas terror group, pushing back against private but intense criticism from Jerusalem, in a spate of interviews to American and Israeli media on Sunday.

Boehler’s remarks ruffled the feathers of senior Israeli officials, who told The Times of Israel they were surprised to hear the envoy comment that the US is “not an agent of Israel.”

The US-Hamas talks, held in parallel to indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt, focused on releasing the American hostages still captive in Gaza.

“We weren’t prepared to just sit back for two weeks,” Boehler told Israel’s Channel 12, refusing to specify when the meetings began or how many took place.

“You’ve got a real chance for some movement and seeing hostages home in the next few weeks,” he continued. When asked whether he thought Hamas would agree to lay down its weapons and relinquish political power in Gaza, he replied: “I do believe that.”

Despite the fact that his meetings focused on the sole living American hostage Edan Alexander, along with the bodies of four slain American hostages, Boehler stressed that the talks were meant to lead to a wider deal for all the hostages.

“You do not need to have fear that the president of the United States, or I, or anyone in our administration will forget you,” he said, addressing the Israeli public.

Boehler told CNN in an earlier interview in the day that a “long-term truce” could be on the horizon, in which “we forgive prisoners, where Hamas lays down their arms, where they agree that they’re not part of the political party going forward.”

Hamas to date has not pledged to lay down its arms or surrender political power.

Asked about mediators’ proposal for an expanded two-month ceasefire for 10 living hostages, he declined to confirm anything but said “it’s a possible solution.”

Israel was set to send a negotiating team to Qatar on Monday for talks regarding the future of the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

Boehler told Channel 12 that the state of negotiations “is very well set up for the Israelis to do well” upon their arrival in Doha.

The direct discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US has designated terrorist organizations. Hamas has been proscribed as such since 1997.

Boehler told CNN that US President Donald Trump had signed off on his talks with Hamas ahead of time, but then walked the claim back, clarifying that the pre-approval came from the White House, not Trump himself.

A source familiar with the matter said Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff had approved the talks.

Boehler said that he understood why Israel might be upset over the talks, noting that he had spoken to Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about the contacts.

“I spoke with Ron, and I’m sympathetic,” he said. “He has someone that he doesn’t know well making direct contact with Hamas. Maybe I would see them and say, ‘Look, they don’t have horns growing out of their head. They’re actually guys like us. They’re pretty nice guys,” Boehler said, apparently referring to officials in the terror group.

A Western official told The Times of Israel on Friday that Dermer had “lashed out” at Boehler upon learning of the talks after the fact. But the envoy insisted in several interviews on Sunday that Israel had been informed about them.

“I understand the consternation and the concern. I wasn’t upset. At the same time, we’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel. We have specific interests at play,” Boehler said.

In a later interview on Fox News, Boehler said he was able to put the Netanyahu confidant “at ease” and convince him “that I wouldn’t go off the rails.”

Boehler was also asked on CNN what it was like for him, as a Jewish American, to sit down with “antisemitic murderers.” In response, he said that his job requires him to hold dialogue “with anybody, and that includes a lot of people that I would classify as not so good people, to help other Americans.”

Asked if he’ll meet Hamas again, Boehler responded, “You never know. Sometimes you’re in the area, and you drop by.”