US negotiators duped by Hamas, says Steve Witkoff as he claims Putin doesnt want to take all of Europe

US special envoy Steve Witkoff has admitted that he may have been “duped” by Hamas during failed ceasefire negotiations but insisted that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin doesn’t want to “take all of Europe,” during a Fox News interview.Witkoff’s team helped broker a ceasefire-for-hostage deal, intended to set the stage for a more durable peace, shortly before President Trump took office again.But last week, Israel resumed its military campaign in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas.“I certainly hope we get everybody back to the table and get the hostages home,” Witkoff said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I thought we had a deal — an acceptable deal.

I even thought we had an approval from Hamas.”“Maybe that’s just me getting duped,” he added.“I thought we were there, and evidently, we weren’t.”Witkoff affirmed that the US “stands with the state of Israel” and stressed, “We need to be clear who the aggressor is here and that is Hamas.”Israel’s military resumed fighting in Gaza due to “Hamas’ refusal to release the hostages and threats to harm IDF soldiers and Israeli communities,” the country’s defense minister Israel Katz claimed on Friday, one of several leading politicians to declare a ramping up in the conflict.“From now on, negotiations will only take place under fire,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday night.With respect to the bloody war in Ukraine, Witkoff struck a more conciliatory tone towards the Russians who began the unprovoked war against its neighbor three years ago.

“In my 68 years on this Earth, I’ve never ever seen a situation where there isn’t two sides to a story,” Witkoff replied when asked if Putin has been mischaracterized as a “tyrant” who kills his political rivals.Witkoff has met with Putin in person twice, including earlier this month.

He recently recounted how the former KGB agent gave him a portrait of Trump and told him that he ...