Behind the scenes of the secret hostage deal negotiations between Israel and Hamas

Shortly after the taking of hostages by Hamas fighters during a surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7, the government of Qatar contacted the White House informing them of its request to form a small group of advisors to participate in the efforts aimed at reaching an agreement for their release. .

This work, which began in the days following the abduction of the hostages, has finally borne fruit with the announcement of an exchange agreement brokered by Qatar and Egypt and approved by Israel, Hamas and the United States.

The covert efforts included intense diplomatic engagement by US President Joe Biden, who held a series of urgent talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the weeks leading up to agreement.

It also included hours of painstaking negotiations involving US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, CIA Director William Burns, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his deputy John Feiner, US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk and others.

Two officials involved in the negotiations provided extensive details about the efforts that led to a deal under which 50 hostages would be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian detainees during a temporary four-day cessation of fighting.

The two officials explained that shortly after Oct. 7, Qatar, which has long undertaken mediation efforts in the troubled region, contacted the White House with sensitive information about the hostages and the possibility of their release.

The Qataris asked to form a small team, which they called “Cell,” to work secretly on this issue with the Israelis.

Sullivan ordered McGurk and another National Security Council official, Josh Geltzer, to form the team.

The two officials said this was done without informing other relevant American agencies because Qatar and Israel requested maximum secrecy and that access to the matter be limited to a small number of people.

McGurk, a seasoned diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East, remained in contact every morning with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani and briefed Sullivan on details and kept Biden informed daily of the developments.

Biden spoke directly about the suffering caused by the Hamas operation during a long and emotional meeting on October 13 with the families of Americans who have been kidnapped or whose fate is unknown.

A few days later, on October 18, Biden traveled to Tel Aviv for talks with Netanyahu.

The official said securing the hostages’ release was the main focus of his discussions with Netanyahu and Israel’s emergency government, in addition to humanitarian aid.

Five days later, on October 23, the efforts of the White House team contributed to the release of the two American hostages, Natalie and Yehudit Raanan.

Near his office in the West Wing, Sullivan, McGurk and Viner followed, moment by moment, the difficult, hours-long journey the two hostages made out of Gaza.

The two officials stressed that the return of the Americas confirmed the possibility of freeing the hostages and gave Biden confidence that Qatar could achieve it through the small team that had been formed.

An intensive operation then began with the aim of extracting more hostages. Burns began speaking frequently with Mossad director David Barnea.

The two officials said Biden saw an opportunity to release large numbers of hostages and that reaching a deal on the detainees was the only realistic way to ensure an end to the fighting.

On October 24, as Israel prepared to launch a ground attack on Gaza, the American side received news that Hamas had accepted the terms of an agreement for the release of women and children, which meant a truce and a delay in land invasion.

American officials discussed with the Israelis whether or not the ground attack should be postponed.

The Israelis said the terms were not specific enough to delay the ground attack, as there was no evidence the hostages were alive.

Hamas said it could not determine who the kidnappers were until a lull in fighting began.

Americans and Israelis considered Hamas’s position deceptive. The official said Israel’s invasion plan was modified to support the truce if an agreement was reached.

Over the next three weeks, Biden began detailed talks that included proposals on whether the two sides could exchange the release of the abducted people.

Hamas was asked for lists of hostages seized, information on their identities and guarantees for their release.

Officials said the process was long and exhausting, that communication was difficult and that messages had to be transferred from Doha or Cairo to Gaza and vice versa.

Officials said Biden made a previously secret phone call with Qatar’s prime minister when things began to take shape.

As part of the agreement currently being defined, it was decided in an initial phase to free the women and children held hostage, as well as to release the Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

The Israelis insisted that Hamas release all women and children at this stage. The American side agreed and requested, through Qatar, evidence that the women and children abducted by Hamas are alive or information about their identities.

Hamas said it could release 50 in the first phase, but declined to provide a list of criteria. On November 9, Burns met with the Emir of Qatar and Barnea in Doha to discuss the texts of the nascent agreement.

The main obstacle at that stage was that Hamas did not clearly identify who it was kidnapping.

Three days later, Biden called the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and demanded to know the names or clear information on the identities of the fifty hostages, including the age, gender and nationality of each of They.

Without this information there was no basis to move forward, the official said.

Shortly after Biden’s call, Hamas provided details of the 50 hostages it said would be released in the first phase of any deal.

Biden urged Netanyahu in a phone call on November 14 to accept the deal, and Netanyahu agreed.

McGurk met Netanyahu the same day in Israel. After leaving the meeting, Netanyahu grabbed McGurk’s arm, said “We need this deal” and urged Biden to contact the emir of Qatar regarding the final terms, an official said.

The talks faltered because communications in Gaza were cut.

When it resumed, Biden was in San Francisco attending a summit of Asia-Pacific countries. Officials said he called the emir of Qatar and told him this was the last chance, and the emir pledged to apply pressure to get the deal done.

“The president insisted that the deal should be done now. The time has passed,” one of the officials said.

On November 18, McGurk met with the Prime Minister of Qatar in Doha. Burns was contacted after speaking with Mossad. The meeting addressed the last remaining gaps to reach an agreement.

The agreement up to that point called for the release of the women and children in the first phase, but with the expectation that others would be released in the future and that all hostages would be returned to their families.

McGurk met in Cairo the next morning with the head of Egypt’s general intelligence, Abbas Kamel. Hamas leaders in Gaza reportedly accepted almost all agreements reached the previous day in Doha.

Officials said only a question remains regarding the number of hostages to be released in the first phase and the final form of the agreement.

A series of further communications followed and eventually an agreement was reached.