FIRST ON FOX: Hostage envoy Adam Boehler met in person with Taliban officials at the Kabul International Airport, Qatari sources told Fox News Digital, marking the first known time the White House has engaged with Afghanistan’s «interim government» following the 2021 takeover by the terrorist organization.

While the meeting between Boehler and Afghan officials representing the Taliban’s foreign ministry met to secure the release of George Glezmann on Thursday, advisor and spokesman to Qatar’s prime minister, Dr Majed al-Ansari, told Fox News Digital that other «beneficial» issues were discussed. 

«U.S. envoy Adam Boehler came to Doha. He had meetings over here, and then we moved to Kabul, where he had meetings in the airport with the foreign minister and other Afghan officials,» al-Ansari said. «That was the first meeting of its kind and opened the door for a lot of dialogue on lots of issues, including the issues of detainees.»

U.S. citizen George Glezmann stands at Kabul Airport following his release from Afghanistan custody, with U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Qatari diplomats, before departing for Doha, Qatar, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 20, 2025. (Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERS   )

TALIBAN FREES AMERICAN HOSTAGE GEORGE GLEZMANN FOLLOWING NEGOTIATIONS WITH US, QATAR

«But also other issues that can be very beneficial for the Afghan people and for the people of the United States, and providing security regionally for Afghanistan, but also in general,» he added. «It was a good first step that we helped facilitate.»

The White House did not return Fox News Digital’s questions on whether Boehler’s in-person meeting suggests the Trump administration may look to establish ties with the Taliban government – a subject that has been taboo among Western nations following the toppling of the democratically elected government and the subsequent severe human rights violations, including the removal of essentially all women’s rights. 

Al-Ansari confirmed that while Qatar has been working with the U.S. since 2022 to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Kabul in the more than three years since the deadly takeover, this is the first time the White House has directly engaged with the Taliban government. 

President Donald Trump, left, listens as Adam Boehler, the CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 14, 2020. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

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«We always said that the way to resolve all of these issues all around the world is through dialog, is through talking, and is through beginning a mode of engagement that is positive and that would bring about more trust between the parties, and would bring about positive results,» al-Ansari added, nodding toward Qatar’s heavy involvement in negotiations between Israel and Hamas. 

Boehler, who has not been confirmed by the Senate after he removed his nomination as special envoy to avoid divestment stipulations, serves as a «special government employee focused on hostage negotiations,» according to a statement by White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly.

The freedom of Glezmann is the second major release Boehler secured this month after Marc Fogel was returned from Russia following his August 2021 arrest. 

President Donald Trump, left, welcomes Marc Fogel back to the United Stated after being released from Russian custody, at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Boehler, who helped secure the Abraham Accords as a lead negotiator during the first Trump administration, turned heads following the revelation that he met with another terrorist organization earlier this month – Hamas.

The hostage envoy met directly with Hamas officials in an attempt to secure the release of the five American hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, including Edan Alexander, who is the only remaining American hostage still alive. 

Otra crisis política interna le estalló en la cara a Benjamín Netanyahu, quien este viernes echó a Ronen Bar, jefe de la agencia de seguridad interior Shin Bet, que lo investigaba, a pedido de la fiscal general, por maniobras financiaras con Qatar. Es la primera vez en la historia del país que titular de esta agencia es despedido.

La medida provocó una oleada de apelaciones de diversos sectores, con lo cual la Corte Suprema paralizó la destitución hasta evaluarlas.

El límite para evaluar las peticiones es el 8 de abril, según el diario The Times of Israel, si bien la Oficina del primer ministro anunció que el despido de Bar se hará efectivo el día 10 (o antes, de nombrarse previamente un sustituto).

Varios partidos opositores israelíes pidieron a la Corte que frene la destitución de Bar, al alegar que hay conflictos de intereses.

El gobierno israelí anunció el viernes la destitución del jefe del servicio de inteligencia interior Shin Bet, alegando que el primer ministro Benjamin Netanyahu ya no confiaba más en él.

Netanyahu también expresó que decidió la destitución de Bar porque lo considera «blando» en el cargo y que «no es la persona adecuada para rehabilitar la organización (Shin Bet)».

El gobierno aprobó por unanimidad la propuesta del primer ministro.

Netanyahu reveló la semana pasada su intención de separar a Bar debido a una «falta de confianza», lo que despertó airadas manifestaciones en su contra entre los israelíes.

Miles de israelíes que salieron a las calles de Jerusalén y de Tel Aviv para mostrar su rechazo al despido de Bar.

Desde el mes pasado Bar investigaba al primer ministro por orden de la fiscal general lo maniobras financieras en Qatar, en un caso llamado el «Qatargate».

Se trata de un escándalo por el que Qatar habría estado pagando a asesores de Netanyahu para que crearan una campaña de publicidad favorable al país del Golfo de cara al Mundial de Fútbol de 2022.

En medio de las protestas populares, el primer ministro desvió la atención de todos, rompiendo la tregua de dos meses en Gaza y relanzando la guerra con un feroz bombardeo que dejó más de 400 muertos en una noche. La guerra continúa ahora como el primer día, con el ingreso de tropas terrestres en la Franja.

Bar fue designado en octubre de 2021 por un período de cinco años, bajo el gobierno anterior en Israel que estuvo en el poder brevemente entre junio de 2021 y diciembre de 2022.

Sus relaciones con Netanyahu eran tensas desde antes del ataque de Hamas contra Israel el 7 de octubre de 2023, que desató la guerra en la Franja de Gaza.

Su principal foco de diferencia era una propuesta de reforma judicial del primer ministro, que polarizó el país.

Las relaciones empeoraron luego de que Shin Bet divulgó el 4 de marzo un informe sobre el ataque de Hamas, en el que reconoció la incapacidad de la agencia por impedir la acción del movimiento palestino.

El informe citó también «una política de silencio que permitió a Hamas tener un masivo fortalecimiento militar».

El gobierno de Netanyahu votará el domingo, según la cadena pública israelí Kan, la presentación de una moción de confianza contra la fiscal general del Estado, Gali Baharav-Miara, a la que acusa de actuar en su contra por motivaciones políticas. El anunció llegó apenas horas después de haber aprobado por unanimidad la destitución de Bar.

El ministro de Justicia de Israel, Yariv Levin, difundió entre los miembros del Ejecutivo un documento de 86 páginas, publicado por Kan, en el que recoge las acusaciones contra Baharav-Miara, de la que habla como una «autoridad política tiránica, a veces violenta y depredadora».

Según el diario Times of Israel, el proceso de moción de confianza podría durar meses.

Bahrav-Miara había rechazado el miércoles la posibilidad de que Netanyahu pudiera destituir a Bar.

La fiscal además había ordenado a Bar investigar a Netanyahu por el Qatargate. Asimismo, supervisa el juicio por tres causas de corrupción al que actualmente se enfrenta el primer ministro.

En los últimos meses, los tres rostros más importantes del estamento de seguridad de Israel (el ministro de Defensa, Yoav Gallant; el jefe del Estado Mayor del Ejército, Herzi Halevi; y su portavoz, Daniel Hagari) se han visto apartados de su cargo o han renunciado a él

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to seize more territory in Gaza if Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages. Earlier this week, the IDF resumed the war in Gaza after a nearly two-month-long ceasefire that saw the release of 33 hostages.

«If the terrorist organization Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages, I have instructed the IDF to seize additional territories, while evacuating the population, and to expand the security zones around Gaza for the benefit of protecting Israeli communities and IDF soldiers, through permanent Israeli control of the territory,» Katz said in a statement. «As Hamas continues its refusal, it will lose more and more territory that will be annexed to Israel.»

If Israel follows through on Katz’s threat of partial annexation, it would be the biggest shift to the status quo in Gaza in almost 20 years. In 2005, Israel evacuated Gaza and even sent in the IDF to physically take Israelis out of their homes. A year later, Hamas took control and has ruled over the Strip ever since.

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Katz also said that Israel will continue Operation «Strength and Sword» with increasing intensity until Hamas releases the hostages. Additionally, he affirmed Israel’s adherence to the proposal put forth by U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, which involves getting all hostages, alive and dead, out of Gaza in two phases.

The Trump administration is standing by Israel’s military decisions. This is a very different approach than the one taken by the Biden administration, which supported Israel militarily and diplomatically, but also put pressure on the country to limit civilian casualties in Gaza.

Netanyahu, with Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF chief Eyal Zamir, held a security assessment in the Kirya in Tel Aviv.  (Prime Minister of Israel )

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that President Donald Trump «fully supports Israel and the IDF in the actions that they’ve taken in recent days.» The president previously warned Hamas that there would be «hell to pay» if the hostages were not released.

«Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose war,» NSC Spokesman James Hewitt said on Thursday. «These terrorists bear total responsibility for this conflict and the resumption of hostilities. Every death would have and could have been avoided had Hamas accepted the ‘bridge’ proposal Special Envoy Witkoff offered last week.»

Palestinians continue to return to Beit Lahia, a city in northern Gaza that was devastated by Israeli attacks, through the rubble and damaged buildings on March 8, 2025, in Beit Lahia, Gaza. (Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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While fighting the war against Gaza, Israel is also experiencing internal turmoil. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that a vote to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s version of the FBI, had passed. Current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar will serve in the role until April 10, but that could change depending on when a replacement for him is found.

Netanyahu claimed he could not trust Bar, according to a statement from his spokesperson cited by Axios. In a letter distributed by the Shin Bet, Bar dismissed the claim and said the motives behind his firing were baseless. On Friday, Israel’s Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction preventing Bar’s dismissal, which will remain in place until the court can hear petitions against the dismissal.