Terrible Choices and Deep Distrust: The Path to the Hostage Deal

WASHINGTON — When it was all said and done, the deal to release some of the hostages held by Hamas came down to two critical phone calls ultimately forcing each side to make a tough concession.

The Israelis were insisting that it was not enough to free just 50 of the roughly 240 hostages. They had to have more, they said. At that point, President Joe Biden had to talk Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel into accepting what was on the table and then keep working to recover the rest.

As for Hamas, according to senior administration officials, its leaders were demanding that the pause in fighting incorporated into the agreement last five days, even though the Israelis refused to agree to more than four. Biden told the emir of Qatar, who was serving as the intermediary with Hamas, that four was all they would get for now.

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The path to the hostage deal was painful and painstaking, one marked by fitful progress, deep mistrust, terrible choices and moments when the whole thing was on the verge of unraveling. Neither side got exactly what it wanted. But if the agreement is carried out successfully over the next few days — and that is still an important if — it could serve as a template for further negotiations to free more of the hostages and extend the temporary cease-fire.

“Last night’s deal is a testament to the tireless diplomacy and determination of many dedicated individuals across the United States government to bring Americans home,” Biden said Wednesday on X, the platform formerly called Twitter. “Now, it’s important that all aspects are fully implemented.”

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The effort to free the hostages extends back to the hours following the terrorist attack of Oct. 7, when Hamas gunmen killed about 1,200 people and captured 240.

Shortly after the attack, the government of Qatar, a small Gulf emirate that hosts some Hamas leaders but maintains close relations with the United States, approached the White House with information about the hostages and suggested the possibility of a deal to win their release. The Qataris asked that a small group of U.S. officials work secretly with them and the Israelis.

Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, directed Brett McGurk, the White House Middle East coordinator, and Joshua Geltzer, then the deputy homeland security adviser who has since become the top lawyer for the National Security Council, to take the lead. To preserve secrecy, other agencies were kept in the dark about the initiative.

McGurk, who has wide contacts in the region, held early morning phone calls each day with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, then briefed Sullivan, who kept Biden informed. Sullivan stayed in touch with Ron Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi, two of Netanyahu’s closest advisers.

The issue was personal for Biden, who met with families of Americans who were believed to be among the hostages on a Zoom call Oct. 13. Biden extended the scheduled time for the call so each family would have a chance to talk about their missing loved ones. Administration officials who were in the Oval Office or on the line described it as one of the most agonizing moments of the Biden presidency.

On Oct. 23, the White House negotiations with Qatar led to the release of two American citizens, Natalie and Judith Raanan, with Sullivan, McGurk and Jon Finer, the deputy national security adviser, tracking what turned out to be a multihour trip out of the Gaza Strip in real time from the West Wing. Their release emboldened Biden and his team to believe that the Qatar channel could lead to the release of more hostages.

The Israelis delegated authority to negotiate to David Barnea, the director of Mossad, the Israeli spy agency. Barnea began to speak regularly with William Burns, the CIA director, about the contours of a deal. Biden spoke with Netanyahu on Oct. 20, 22, 23 and 25, each time with the hostages a key topic of the conversation.

Hamas got word to the Americans on Oct. 25 that it had agreed to the parameters of a deal to release the women and children among the hostages, as long as there was a delay of a planned Israeli ground invasion into Gaza. But the Israelis did not view the deal as firm enough to hold back the invasion. Among other things, Hamas had not provided any proof that the hostages were still alive.

But the Israelis adapted their ground invasion to be phased in a way that would allow for a pause in fighting if a deal came together, according to U.S. officials. Over the next three weeks, as Israeli forces moved into Gaza, negotiations continued with Qatar, as well as Egypt.

At one point after McGurk got off the phone with Qatar’s prime minister, Biden insisted he wanted to talk with the emir himself. The call, which was not announced publicly, helped shape a deal that was coming together to free women and children in the first phase as part of what would be several stages of release in exchange for the release of Palestinians held prisoner by the Israelis.