Israel, Hamas, the US, and Qatar to secure the release of 50 hostages.

 Inside the intricate negotiations among Israel, Hamas, the US, and Qatar to secure the release of 50 hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly grasped Brett McGurk’s arm while exiting a tense meeting of the Israeli Cabinet focused on securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

"We need this deal," Netanyahu conveyed to the White House Middle East coordinator during the exchange in Tel Aviv a week ago, according to sources with knowledge of the interaction.

Earlier that same day, Netanyahu and President Joe Biden had reached an agreement over the phone, expressing readiness to accept the general outlines of a deal for Hamas to release 50 women and children held hostage.

A significant breakthrough occurred two days prior, on November 12, when Hamas, after days of resistance, yielded by providing identifying details about several dozen hostages, including their age, gender, and nationalities.

This information confirmed that numerous children and toddlers had been taken captive on October 7.

Despite both Israel and the US believing there were more than 50 women and children hostages, they concurred on the necessity of proceeding with securing the release of the initial 50, with the hope that the deal might encourage Hamas to release additional hostages after the initial group.

Unfortunately, after McGurk's meeting with Netanyahu, all communication came to a halt.

The Qataris, who previously served as the principal negotiators, encountered difficulty in establishing communication with Hamas. When the group eventually reappeared, they issued a threat to disrupt the ongoing talks. Their condition was the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces, who had conducted a raid on Al-Shifa hospital, from the hospital premises. Despite the IDF's resistance, the group pledged to ensure the hospital's continuous operation.

Upon the recommencement of negotiations, President Biden, situated in San Francisco following a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, placed an additional call to the Emir of Qatar. The essence of his message was unequivocal: time was of the essence. The Emir assured Biden of his commitment to exert every effort to bring the deal to a conclusion.

The subsequent day, McGurk convened with the Emir in Doha to scrutinize the comprehensive text of the final agreement spanning almost half a dozen 

 The Israeli war cabinet granted approval to the agreement on Sunday, making slight adjustments before conveying it to Hamas for the final review.

The Emir of Qatar, acting as the intermediary, underscored that this marked the last offer. On Tuesday morning, Hamas communicated its acceptance of the deal to the Qatari representatives. Negotiations for the deal commenced immediately after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.

The groundwork for the agreement started taking shape weeks later, following the Biden administration's establishment of communication with Hamas through the Qataris, referred to as their "pilot" negotiation. On October 23, the White House successfully secured the release of two American citizens from Gaza—Natalie and Judith Raanan.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan, principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, and McGurk monitored their journey in real-time.

The day served as evidence to Biden's top national security officials that effective communication with Hamas via Qatar had been established, sparking efforts to secure the release of a larger group of hostages. After Israeli authorization for the Mossad director to negotiate, Burns in the US also became actively involved. In Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani directly engaged with senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. During multiple October phone calls, Biden emphasized to Netanyahu the potential for a substantial release of hostages. On October 24, Hamas seemed agreeable to a deal for the release of women and children hostages. American and Israeli officials deliberated intensely on whether Israel should postpone its ground invasion. Israel, however, remained unconvinced, lacking evidence of the hostages' well-being and doubting Hamas' claim that identification was contingent on a pause in fighting. Consequently, Israel initiated its ground invasion on October 27. In the ensuing weeks, the US, Israel, and Qatar engaged in negotiations with Hamas, exploring the release of the hostages.