(José Niño, Headline USA) Israel is apparently spying on the Trump administration and leaking sensitive diplomatic moves to the media.
Throughout the past few weeks, the Trump administration has been conducting direct talks with Hamas concerning the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and the possibility of reaching a more comprehensive deal to end the war, per a report by Axios.
As the Trump administration held talks with Israel about the possibility of communicating with Hamas, Israel discovered other aspects of the talks via other channels, suggesting that the Israelis were conducting espionage operations to obtain such information.
In an X/Twitter post, independent journalist Max Blumenthal commented on this development, “So Israel is spying on the Trump admin and leaking its sensitive diplomatic moves to the press.”
So Israel is spying on the Trump admin and leaking its sensitive diplomatic moves to the press https://t.co/b6VDrWmUWS pic.twitter.com/wPOxhY0Hft
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) March 5, 2025
U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler is conducting the talks. Such talks are unprecedented due to how the U.S. had never previously engaged with Hamas, which the U.S. government designated as a terrorist organization in 1997.
These talks were held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, over the last few weeks and have sought to take steps toward releasing all the remaining hostages and establish a long-term truce. However, no deal has been reached yet.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff had plans of traveling to Doha this week to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani to discuss the ceasefire negotiations but canceled the trip on Tuesday night after he saw there was no meaningful progress made by Hamas’ side, according to a U.S. official’s account of the negotiations.
Hamas is reportedly holding 59 hostages in Gaza. According to the Israel Defense Forces, 35 of those hostages are reportedly dead. Sources from the Israeli intelligence community report that 22 hostages are still alive, while the status of two other hostages is unknown.
President Donald Trump’s patience on the issue of releasing hostages has worn thin. On Wednesday, Trump issued a “last warning” to Hamas to free all hostages that remain in Gaza.
In a statement he posted on his Truth Social platform shortly after holding a meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, Trump revealed that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job.”
“Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump demanded. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!”
Thus far, the fighting has not resumed.
The fighting hasn’t resumed, but Israel stopped the delivery of all humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel’s punitive military action has displaced 1.9 million Palestinians — 90 percent of Gaza’s population — with the threat of a famine looming on the horizon.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
