The two sides are supposed to negotiate a second phase of the cease-fire agreement that would end the war, but they remain far apart on how to move forward.

America’s secret talks with Hamas are moving along in a “positive” direction after President Trump warned the terror group to release the hostages in Gaza “or there will be hell to pay later” — but the covert negotiations came as a complete shock to Israel.

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,