WASHINGTON: Shortly after Hamas militants took hostages during their deadly assault on southern Israel on October 7, the government of Qatar contacted the White House with a request: form a small team of advisers to help work to get the captives freed. That work, begun in the days after the hostages were taken, finally bore fruit with the announcement of a prisoner swap deal mediated by Qatar and Egypt and agreed by Israel, Hamas and the United States.
The secretive effort included tense personal diplomatic engagement by US President Joe Biden, who held a number of urgent conversations with the emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the weeks leading up to the deal.
It involved hours of painstaking negotiations including US secretary of state Antony Blinken, CIA director Bill Burns, NSA Jake Sullivan and his deputy Jon Finer, and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, among others. Two officials involved in the effort provided details of the work that led to the hostage deal.
Shortly after October 7, Qatar – a long-established mediator in a volatile region – approached the White House with sensitive information on the hostages and the potential for their release, the officials said. The Qataris asked that a small team, which they called a “cell”, be established to work the issue privately with the Israelis. Sullivan directed McGurk and another national security council official, Josh Geltzer, to establish the team.
McGurk, a seasoned diplomat with deep experience in the Middle East, held daily calls with the PM of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. He reported back to Sullivan and Biden was briefed daily.
Biden got an upfront look at what the victims of the Hamas attack endured when he held an emotional meeting on October 13 with the families of Americans who were either being held hostage or were unaccounted for. Days later, Biden travelled to Tel Aviv for October 18 talks with Netanyahu. The official said securing the release of hostages was a central focus of their talks, as well as humanitarian assistance.
On October 23, the White House team’s work helped yield the release of two American hostages, Natalie and Judith Raanan. The return of the duo proved it was possible to gain freedom for hostages and gave confidence to Biden that Qatar could deliver through the team, the officials said. Now, an intensified process started to get more hostages out. When this happened, Burns began speaking regularly with the Mossad director.
On October 24, with Israel poised to launch a ground offensive in Gaza, the US side got word that Hamas had agreed to the parameters of a deal to release women and children, which would mean a pause and a delay in the ground invasion.
The Israelis argued that terms were not firm enough to delay a ground offensive, since there was no proof of life for the hostages. Hamas claimed they could not determine who was being held until a pause began. Americans and Israelis viewed the Hamas position as disingenuous. The official said Israel’s invasion plan was adapted to support a pause if a deal came together.
Biden engaged over the next three weeks in detailed talks as proposals about a hostage release were traded back and forth. Demands were made that Hamas produce details of hostages it was holding.
The process was long and cumbersome – communication was difficult and messages had to be passed from Doha or Cairo into Gaza and back.
Biden held a previously undisclosed phone call with the Qatari PM when the phasing of releases began to take shape, the official said. Under the agreement taking shape, women and children would be freed in a first phase, together with a commensurate release of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas said it could guarantee 50 in the first phase. The key obstacle at this point was that Hamas had not clearly identified who it was holding.
Three days later, Biden called the emir of Qatar and demanded to know the names or clear identifying information for the 50 hostages including ages, gender and nationalities. Without the information, the official said, there was no basis to move forward. Shortly after Biden’s call, Hamas produced details for the 50 hostages.
Biden in a November 14 call urged Netanyahu to take the deal. Netanyahu agreed.
McGurk saw Netanyahu that same day in Israel. Walking out of a meeting, Netanyahu grabbed McGurk’s arm and said “we need this deal” and urged Biden to call the emir of Qatar on the final terms, one of the officials said.
Talks then stalled as communications went dark in Gaza. When they resumed, Biden called the emir of Qatar and told him this was the last chance, and the emir pledged to apply pressure to close the deal.
On November 18, McGurk met in Doha with the Qatari PM. Burns was dialed in after he spoke with Mossad. The meeting identified the last remaining gaps toward a deal. In Cairo the next morning, McGurk met with Egypt intelligence chief. Word came from Hamas leaders that they had accepted nearly all the agreements worked out the day before in Doha.
A flurry of additional contacts ensued, and the deal finally came together.
The secretive effort included tense personal diplomatic engagement by US President Joe Biden, who held a number of urgent conversations with the emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the weeks leading up to the deal.
It involved hours of painstaking negotiations including US secretary of state Antony Blinken, CIA director Bill Burns, NSA Jake Sullivan and his deputy Jon Finer, and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, among others. Two officials involved in the effort provided details of the work that led to the hostage deal.
Shortly after October 7, Qatar – a long-established mediator in a volatile region – approached the White House with sensitive information on the hostages and the potential for their release, the officials said. The Qataris asked that a small team, which they called a “cell”, be established to work the issue privately with the Israelis. Sullivan directed McGurk and another national security council official, Josh Geltzer, to establish the team.
McGurk, a seasoned diplomat with deep experience in the Middle East, held daily calls with the PM of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. He reported back to Sullivan and Biden was briefed daily.
Biden got an upfront look at what the victims of the Hamas attack endured when he held an emotional meeting on October 13 with the families of Americans who were either being held hostage or were unaccounted for. Days later, Biden travelled to Tel Aviv for October 18 talks with Netanyahu. The official said securing the release of hostages was a central focus of their talks, as well as humanitarian assistance.
On October 23, the White House team’s work helped yield the release of two American hostages, Natalie and Judith Raanan. The return of the duo proved it was possible to gain freedom for hostages and gave confidence to Biden that Qatar could deliver through the team, the officials said. Now, an intensified process started to get more hostages out. When this happened, Burns began speaking regularly with the Mossad director.
On October 24, with Israel poised to launch a ground offensive in Gaza, the US side got word that Hamas had agreed to the parameters of a deal to release women and children, which would mean a pause and a delay in the ground invasion.
The Israelis argued that terms were not firm enough to delay a ground offensive, since there was no proof of life for the hostages. Hamas claimed they could not determine who was being held until a pause began. Americans and Israelis viewed the Hamas position as disingenuous. The official said Israel’s invasion plan was adapted to support a pause if a deal came together.
Biden engaged over the next three weeks in detailed talks as proposals about a hostage release were traded back and forth. Demands were made that Hamas produce details of hostages it was holding.
The process was long and cumbersome – communication was difficult and messages had to be passed from Doha or Cairo into Gaza and back.
Biden held a previously undisclosed phone call with the Qatari PM when the phasing of releases began to take shape, the official said. Under the agreement taking shape, women and children would be freed in a first phase, together with a commensurate release of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas said it could guarantee 50 in the first phase. The key obstacle at this point was that Hamas had not clearly identified who it was holding.
Three days later, Biden called the emir of Qatar and demanded to know the names or clear identifying information for the 50 hostages including ages, gender and nationalities. Without the information, the official said, there was no basis to move forward. Shortly after Biden’s call, Hamas produced details for the 50 hostages.
Biden in a November 14 call urged Netanyahu to take the deal. Netanyahu agreed.
McGurk saw Netanyahu that same day in Israel. Walking out of a meeting, Netanyahu grabbed McGurk’s arm and said “we need this deal” and urged Biden to call the emir of Qatar on the final terms, one of the officials said.
Talks then stalled as communications went dark in Gaza. When they resumed, Biden called the emir of Qatar and told him this was the last chance, and the emir pledged to apply pressure to close the deal.
On November 18, McGurk met in Doha with the Qatari PM. Burns was dialed in after he spoke with Mossad. The meeting identified the last remaining gaps toward a deal. In Cairo the next morning, McGurk met with Egypt intelligence chief. Word came from Hamas leaders that they had accepted nearly all the agreements worked out the day before in Doha.
A flurry of additional contacts ensued, and the deal finally came together.
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