A planned meeting in Ankara between US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and senior Hamas official Khalil al Hayya was canceled after pressure from Israel, the Lebanese Al Mayadeen outlet reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed Palestinian sources.
Al Mayadeen said the meeting was scheduled for Wednesday in the Turkish capital and noted that an earlier report by Hani al Dali, a commentator on Palestinian armed groups who spoke to the outlet on Tuesday, first disclosed the plan for the session.
The New York Times reported last Friday that Witkoff planned to meet with al Hayya as part of US efforts to negotiate a Gaza ceasefire, but the newspaper did not give a date for the meeting or report that it had been canceled.
The Israeli Walla news website reported on Sunday that Israeli security officials expressed anger over plans for a Witkoff-al Hayya meeting.
The UN Security Council approved a United States-sponsored plan on Monday that calls for an international stabilization force and a temporary technocratic Palestinian committee to run civil affairs, but Hamas has rejected the proposal, and key questions remain about who will carry out the plan and how displaced families will return to their homes.