How Biden helped in Sealing Israel hostages deal? In a covert operation that spanned weeks, a small team of advisers, meticulously assembled by the government of Qatar, worked alongside the White House to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas militants during a deadly assault on southern Israel on October 7.
The success of the mission was announced through a carefully orchestrated prisoner swap deal, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, and agreed upon by Israel, Hamas, and the United States.
How Biden helped in Sealing Israel hostages deal
The confidential efforts involved intense diplomatic engagements by U.S. President Joe Biden, who conducted urgent conversations with the Emir of Qatar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the lead-up to the agreement.
Key figures in the negotiations included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA Director Bill Burns, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Deputy Jon Finer, and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, among others.
Initiated shortly after the hostages were taken, the operation began with Qatar providing sensitive information to the White House regarding the hostages and their potential release.
A discreet “cell” of advisers, led by McGurk and another National Security Council official, Josh Geltzer, was formed to work on the issue privately with the Israelis, at the behest of Qatar and Israel, which demanded extreme secrecy.
Daily morning calls between McGurk and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani became a routine, with regular briefings to Sullivan and President Biden.
The president, gaining firsthand insight into the hostages’ plight, met with the families of Americans held captive or unaccounted for on October 13.
Biden’s subsequent talks with Netanyahu during his visit to Tel Aviv on October 18 centered on securing the release of hostages and providing humanitarian assistance.
A breakthrough occurred on October 23, leading to the release of two American hostages, Natalie and Judith Raanan. This success bolstered confidence in the negotiating team and set the stage for intensified efforts to free more hostages.
Biden seized the opportunity, recognizing that a prisoner exchange was the realistic path to achieving a pause in the ongoing conflict.
As Israel prepared for a ground offensive in Gaza on October 24, the U.S. received word that Hamas had agreed to a deal that would release women and children, prompting a potential delay in the ground invasion.
A debate ensued with Israel on whether to proceed with the ground offensive, with both sides acknowledging the delicate nature of the situation.
Over the next three weeks, detailed talks and proposals for a potential hostage release were exchanged. The process was complex, involving communication challenges and the passing of messages between Doha, Cairo, and Gaza.
A critical turning point came on November 9 when Burns met with Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Mossad’s David Barnea to review the emerging arrangement.
The main hurdle at that juncture was Hamas’s failure to clearly identify the hostages. Biden intervened on November 12, demanding the names and identifying information of the 50 hostages.
Hamas responded by providing details, paving the way for Biden to urge Netanyahu to accept the deal on November 14.
As negotiations faced a temporary blackout in Gaza, Biden, attending an Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco, called the Emir of Qatar, emphasizing that time was of the essence.
A final push on November 18, led by McGurk in Doha and Burns in consultation with Mossad, identified the last remaining gaps toward a deal.
The agreement, structured for the release of women and children in the first phase, signaled hope for future releases and aimed to reunite all hostages with their families.
In a meeting with Egypt intelligence chief Abbas Kamil in Cairo on the following morning, the final pieces fell into place as Hamas leaders in Gaza signaled their acceptance of nearly all the agreements. Only one issue remained, tied to the number of hostages to be released in the first phase and the overall structure of the deal to incentivize future releases beyond the initial 50 women and children.
