Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American businessman who served as an unofficial mediator between Hamas and the Trump administration and was involved in securing the release of hostage Edan Alexander, visited Israel last week on a private trip and met with relatives of hostages. The meeting was held at the families’ request, as they wanted to hear more details from him about the state of negotiations.
Bahbah told them that on the eve of the attack in Qatar, a deal had been on the table but was derailed by the bombing. According to him, Qatar remains the most significant player in reaching an agreement, and Israel “needs to take steps to bring it back to the mediation table.” He added that the greatest damage has been to Qatar’s status and dignity as a mediator.
A former head of the group “Americans for Trump,” Bahbah is considered a central contact in the indirect channel between Hamas and the United States. Through him, the framework that led to the release of captured soldier Idan Alexander was shaped. That initiative began with Hamas, not Washington. After the direct talks between the U.S. administration and Hamas were exposed and halted following sharp criticism in Jerusalem, Hamas negotiator Ghazi Hamad approached Bahbah through Suha Arafat, opening the channel that eventually led to Alexander’s release.
Hamad at the time offered Bahbah the release of Alexander. Ynet has learned that Hamas representatives in both Doha and Gaza told various contacts that through this channel they had received a U.S. promise to pressure Israel to resume humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
At the end of May, Bahbah advanced another proposal: a 70-day ceasefire and the release of 10 hostages in two stages. Israeli officials said then that “the framework Bahbah proposed is something no government could have agreed to,” since Hamas attached conditions they deemed impossible and equivalent to abandoning the goals of the war.
In recent months, reports claimed Bahbah had withdrawn from the American negotiating team, but he denied them, stressing he was never an official member. On Facebook he wrote: “In Israel they reported fake news about me. I am still working to end the brutal war in Gaza.” He said he acted as a mediator at the request of American envoy Steve Witkoff, and added: “I believe Trump wants to end the tragedy in Gaza. I was and always will be a strong voice defending the residents of the Strip.”