During a tense meeting of the Israeli Cabinet regarding the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu grabbed Brett McGurk's arm. "We need this deal," Netanyahu told the White House Middle East coordinator during their meeting in Tel Aviv a week ago, according to sources familiar with the exchange.
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu and President Joe Biden had agreed over the phone to accept a proposed deal for Hamas to release 50 women and children who were being held hostage.
A significant development had occurred on November 12, when Hamas, after days of refusal, finally provided identifying information about several dozen hostages, including their age, gender, and nationalities. This information confirmed that many children and toddlers had been taken captive on October 7.
Hamas goes dark
Despite Israel and the US both acknowledging the presence of over 50 women and children hostages, they were in agreement on the necessity of proceeding with the liberation of the initial 50, in the hope that this would encourage Hamas to release more hostages in the future.
After McGurk's meeting with Netanyahu, everything went dark.
The Qataris, who had been leading the mediation efforts, were unable to reach Hamas. When the group finally reappeared, they threatened to disrupt the talks by insisting that the Israel Defense Forces, which had entered to raid Al-Shifa hospital, leave the premises. The IDF refused but stated that they would continue operating the hospital.
After resuming talks, Biden, who had just finished a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco, made one final call to the emir of Qatar, informing him that time was up. The emir assured Biden that he would do everything in his power to close the deal. The following day, McGurk met with the emir in person in Doha to review the half a dozen page long text outlining the details of the final deal, including the departure of women and children in the first phase and incentives for Hamas to release additional hostages. CIA Director Bill Burns joined the meeting over the phone.
The Israeli war cabinet approved the agreement with minor adjustments on Sunday, and the emir of Qatar passed the final version of the deal to Hamas. The emir emphasized that this is the ultimate offer.
On Tuesday morning, Hamas responded to their Qatari interlocutors: They approved the deal.
A pilot negotiation
Negotiations to reach a deal started shortly after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, but it wasn't until weeks later, when the Biden administration was confident in the effectiveness of communication with Hamas through the Qataris, that the groundwork for the deal began to take shape. This was later referred to as their "pilot" negotiation.
On October 23, the White House successfully secured the release of two American citizens, Natalie and Judith Raanan, from Gaza. As the mother and daughter made their way across Gaza, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, and McGurk monitored their movements in real time from Sullivan's office. Sources described their multi-hour journey as "excruciating."
Upon arriving at the border, the women were greeted by Charge d'Affaires Stephanie Hallett. President Biden then personally called Natalie Raanan's father to share the good news, and later in the day, he spoke with both women. This day demonstrated to Biden's top national security officials that the White House had effectively established a line of communication and negotiation with Hamas through Qatar. This event sparked the weeks-long effort to secure the release of a larger group of hostages.
Foundations of a deal
After the Israelis delegated the director of Mossad to negotiate on the hostages, back in the US, Burns, too, became intimately involved.
In Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had direct discussions with senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, according to a source familiar with the talks.
During several phone conversations in October, Biden conveyed to Netanyahu that there was a potential for a significant number of hostages to be freed. On October 24, Hamas seemed to be open to the terms of an agreement to release women and children hostages. This prompted intense deliberations among American and Israeli officials about whether Israel should postpone its ground invasion.
Israel remained unconvinced. They lacked evidence of the hostages' well-being as claimed by Hamas, and they questioned Hamas' assertion that they couldn't identify the hostages until the fighting ceased. Consequently, Israel initiated its ground invasion on October 27th.
In the weeks that followed, negotiations between the US, Israel, and Qatar and Hamas continued, covering every detail of a potential deal including the timeframe, number of hostages, safe passage corridors, and surveillance.
Blinken returned to Israel in early November to urge the Israeli government to accept "humanitarian pauses" as a way to move forward on the hostage situation. Although there was initially an agreement after Blinken's meeting with Netanyahu and the war cabinet, the Israeli prime minister publicly rejected the idea mere hours later. It was only after several days of pressure from the US that the Israeli government finally implemented and acknowledged "tactical pauses."
The conversations often progressed at a frustratingly slow pace as communication traveled from Doha, Qatar, or Cairo to Hamas in Gaza, and then back again before being relayed to Israel and the US.
"It feels like pulling teeth with every single step," lamented one official during that time.
The hostages were the primary concern that initially prevented Israel from agreeing to a humanitarian pause, as the Israeli government was hesitant to offer any relief in exchange for hostages, according to a senior State Department official. Multiple variations of a deal were considered.
Israeli and US officials initially demanded that the release process begin with women and children. Hamas, however, only agreed to release 50 hostages and refused to provide any identifying information about them. When Burns met with the emir of Qatar and the Mossad director in Doha, the lack of identifying information became a major obstacle.
On November 12, Biden informed the emir of Qatar that the negotiations could not proceed without this crucial information in a "very important and very intense call," according to a senior administration official. Following this, Hamas eventually conceded, seemingly ensuring the release of 50 women and children hostages in any final agreement.
Next steps
Despite only securing the return of 50 women and children in the deal reached this week, US officials expressed optimism on Tuesday that the agreement will lead to more hostage releases in the future.
10 Americans, including two women and a 3-year-old girl, are still missing. When asked about this, a senior administration official stated that the White House is committed to bringing everyone home and indicated that the agreement is designed to encourage the release of all the remaining Americans. Additionally, a State Department spokesperson mentioned that if hostages are released from Hamas, it would allow for more humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza.
The released hostages will receive medical attention in Israel after their safe passage, as some may have longer-term medical needs following six weeks in "abhorrent conditions," according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. Efforts will also be made to repatriate the citizens to their home countries and reconnect them with their families.
For American citizens, the US State Department will provide consular assistance after prioritizing their medical care.
The Biden administration may not have confirmation on the release of the two American women and orphaned 3-year-old for 24 to 48 hours, according to a US official. This report includes contributions from CNN's Alex Marquardt.
