US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said he does not believe Hamas is "ideologically intractable," arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "enthusiastic," but is working against Israeli public opinion that prioritizes freeing the remaining hostages from Gaza over destroying Hamas.

In a 90-minute interview with conservative radio host Tucker Carlson, Witkoff discussed the motives of Israel, Hamas, and Qatar in the ongoing Gaza war, offering a staunch defense of Doha against critics who question its motives and acknowledging his concerns about the potential for the Gaza war to destabilize countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

He also suggested that the new Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, may be a very different person than he was in al-Qaeda, and revealed new details about his success in mediating the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, which began on January 19 and ended on March 2, and which was ended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by resuming the war at dawn on March 18. Witkoff insisted that the Iranian nuclear threat could be resolved diplomatically.

Witkoff interviewed Carlson, a right-wing talk show host who has been harshly criticized in American Jewish circles for hosting guests who have promoted anti-Semitic claims and Holocaust revisionism. He is also known to have a large fan base, particularly among Trump supporters.

The podcast interview began with Trump's Middle East envoy explaining that his job requires him to understand the motivations of the various parties he deals with.

"What does Hamas want? I think they want to stay there forever. They want to rule Gaza, and that's unacceptable. We should have known that... what they want is unacceptable," Witkoff said.

He added, "What is acceptable to us is that they need to disarm. Then maybe they can stay there for a while... and participate politically." But... we cannot allow a terrorist organization to run Gaza because that would not be acceptable to Israel. Then we will live through exactly the same experiences, meaning that we will have another October 7 every five, ten, or fifteen years."

When Witkoff was asked about the nature of negotiations with Hamas, he admitted that he was not speaking to them directly, and that he was using Qatar as a mediator.

The US envoy had agreed to have Trump's hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, hold secret direct talks with Hamas officials earlier this month. However, Washington abandoned those talks after they were leaked by Israel, which later learned of them.

While Witkoff worked to understand Hamas through negotiations, he said he also viewed collected footage of the movement's October 7 attack, which Israeli authorities showed him during his first visit to Israel after taking office.

"It was horrific," Witkoff claimed. "It was gang rape. There were pictures of Hamas members beheading an Israeli soldier... It's beyond anything I've ever seen."

It should be noted that Israel's allegations of rape have been completely refuted, and the Israeli occupation authorities have been unable to produce a single piece of evidence to substantiate these allegations.

"It can affect your feelings toward Hamas. Sometimes, as a negotiator, you have to be neutral," Witkoff added. "It's not easy to make decisions if you're going to watch the movie, but I had to see it... We can't ignore the reality of what happened on October 7. They'll tell you they have a justification, but there is no justification... for what happened that day." However, Witkoff returned to the importance of understanding Hamas's motivations.

"You have to know what Hamas wants... and then you have to determine what you can offer them that will allow them to withdraw, because that's what's required here," he said.

"What we heard at the beginning of this conflict was that Hamas is ideological, and that it is willing to die for various reasons. I personally - and I was talking to the president about this... I told him, 'I don't think they are that ideologically closed.' They are not ideologically stubborn. I never believed that."

“Once you understand that [Hamas] wants to stay, you can talk to them more effectively,” Witkoff said.

When Witkoff was asked how he reached this conclusion about Hamas, he said he had read numerous US intelligence reports and also sensed "the rhythm and pace of the negotiations." "That's when I came to the conclusion that they wanted alternatives," he said.

It's worth noting that Witkoff's comments about Hamas are somewhat similar to statements made by Adam Boehler in a series of interviews with the American and Israeli press on March 9, which angered Netanyahu and his inner circle.

A newspaper revealed earlier this month that a senior US official told it that Netanyahu's top aide, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, continued to pressure Trump officials to sideline Boehler after those interviews.

Hamas rejected a proposal dubbed the "bridge" proposal made last week that would have extended the first phase of the ceasefire until the end of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday next month, along with the release of five live hostages and a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas insisted on adhering to the original terms of the agreement Witkoff helped broker in January, which was supposed to see the start of Phase II negotiations about two weeks after the ceasefire (February 3, 2025). But Israel refused to proceed with such talks, because Phase II would require the IDF to withdraw all its forces from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war.

While Netanyahu agreed to these terms, he also insisted that he would not agree to end the war before dismantling Hamas's military and governmental capabilities. The United States accepted the new Israeli position and worked to extend the first phase, rather than proceed with the second.

Hamas did not accept this approach, and instead offered to release the American-Israeli hostage Aidan Alexander along with the bodies of four other hostages with American citizenship—an offer based on discussions Hamas had with Boehler earlier this month. But the Trump administration had already bypassed those direct talks, and Witkoff on March 16 described Hamas’s proposal as “unworkable.”