U.S. Hostage Envoy Adam Boehler defended the United States’s negotiating directly with the Hamas terrorist group, though he acknowledged why Israeli officials were upset over the move.

The Trump administration has been negotiating directly with Hamas over the release of its hostages, prompting the ire of Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer during a recent phone call with Boehler. The envoy explained that he is “sympathetic” to Dermer’s anger, as well as how the minister lives in a country where there are “big stakes” at play.

Recommended Stories

• Trump threatens new sanctions and tariffs on Russia to force peace talks
• Trump’s desire for ceasefire is anchored by his belief the war is unwinnable. It didn’t have to end this way.
• Trump's Russia prostration is a great global gift to China

“At the same time, we’re the United States,” Boehler stated on CNN. “We’re not an agent of Israel. We have specific interests at play, and we did communicate back and forth. We had very specific parameters by which we fell, and the reality is what I wanted to do is jump-start some negotiations that were in a very fragile place.”

Boehler further explained that he wanted to ask Hamas, “What is the endgame that you want here?” Buehler said this question was posed since it is “very hard to reach some sort of truce” until the U.S. learns what this is, and in the end, it created “a very helpful meeting.”

Additionally, Boehler stated that Israel has done a “masterful” job at eliminating Hamas, Hezbollah, and other enemies within Gaza. As such, he believes “a long-term truce” could be possible, and that achieving this is “real close.”

ISRAEL SAYS IT IS CUTTING OFF ITS ELECTRICITY SUPPLY TO GAZA

When asked if Boehler would meet up with Hamas again, he replied, “You never know,” and that he could be in the area and “drop by.”

Last month, national security adviser Mike Waltz suggested that Hamas is “afraid” of President Donald Trump, and that the terrorist group has “listened to the president.”