"What we heard from the beginning of this conflict is that Hamas is ideological, they are prepared to die," Witkoff said adding that he did not agree and did not believe they were ideologically intractable. "Once you understand that they wanted to live, then you were able to talk to them in a more effective way." Witkoff spoke about his connection to the families of hostages and his empathy for them which he said was related to his own, personal tragedy when he lost his son to addiction. He said many of the families know that they may never see their children again. He told Carlson about the stories that hostages who were released shared with him and with Trump during their visit to the White House.