"We're the United States. We're not an agent of Israel," says hostage envoy

The Trump administration's hostage envoy Adam Boehler said his recent meetings with Hamas leaders were designed to pinpoint what the group's end game was, and aim to bring the war to a close.

"I think it was a very helpful meeting. It was very helpful to hear some back and forth," Boehler said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union."

Boehler said he understood concerns by Israeli officials about his direct contact with Hamas, but said he had a clear goal in his talks.

"We're the United States. We're not an agent of Israel," Boehler said. "We have specific interests at play, and we did communicate back and forth.

"What I wanted to do is jump start some negotiations that were in a very fragile place. And I wanted to say to Hamas, what is the end game that you want here?"

The discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups it has designated as terrorist organisations.

Boehler said he believed something could be achieved on the Israeli captives within weeks, but did not elaborate. He said he believes that a deal can be made in which all of the captives can get out.