Witkoff created ’emotional bond’ with Hamas terror leader to get the deal done

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said both he and Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya were “members of a really bad club — parents who’ve buried children.”

By World Israel News Staff

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said he had formed an emotional connection with senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya — an unrepentant terrorist who has repeatedly described the October 7 attacks as a “source of pride” for Palestinians — because both men had lost their sons.

Witkoff’s son, Andrew, died in 2011 from an accidental opioid overdose. Al-Hayya’s son, Hamam, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas compound in Qatar in September.

Witkoff and Jared Kushner — former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of the architects of the Abraham Accords — met face-to-face with the Hamas leader in an attempt to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal.

“We expressed our condolences to [al-Hayya] for the loss of his son,” Witkoff said in an interview with 60 Minutes. “He mentioned it. And I told him that I had lost a son, and that we were both members of a really bad club, parents who have buried children.”

Kushner recalled that the two men bonded over their shared grief. “When Steve and him spoke about their sons, it turned from a negotiation with a terrorist group to seeing two human beings kind of showing a vulnerability with each other,” he said.

Witkoff also confirmed that Trump had personally approved the meeting, despite Hamas being designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

Trump was “very, very comfortable” with the idea, Witkoff said, emphasizing that the goal was to move closer to a deal.

“If you feel that you can get to a deal, of course. Why wouldn’t I encourage you to get into that room and get it finished?” Witkoff quoted Trump as saying.

He praised the former president’s decision as “courageous,” calling it a bold step in pursuit of peace and the safe return of hostages.