FROM OUR REPORTER
WASHINGTON Among the 50 hostages (all women and children) to be released in the “first phase” of the agreement reached with Hamas are three Americans – two women and a little girl named Abigail, who turned four on November 24th becomes. In return, Israel accepted a military ceasefire of “at least four or five days” and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners. During this lull in fighting, Hamas is also expected to locate all other women and children (Israel believes there are more than 50) and release them all. A senior American government official said this to reporters last night, describing the difficult negotiations that culminated over “five harrowing weeks” in a six-page agreement drawn up in Doha on November 18, setting out the details of implementation on both sides.
The application of the agreement should begin from Thursday, November 23rd, Thanksgiving Day in America, with the release of about ten hostages per day (for Israel, it takes 24 hours after the agreement for citizens to be given the opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Court to request the blocking). release of Palestinian prisoners). The Israeli-American child is believed to be Abigail Mor Idan, who was in her father’s arms when Hamas killed him and his wife on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7.
During the negotiations, Hamas was asked for a list of the 50 hostages’ “identification criteria”; The group initially refused and then only provided a list of ten hostages, which was viewed as inadequate by the United States and Israel. Hamas claimed it needed a ceasefire before release because it was impossible to identify and locate all women and children during the fighting, but the Americans and Israelis refused. The “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza, during which there should also be an increase in aid to Palestinian civilians, are therefore linked to the release of the hostages, “not because we do not independently support them,” the American official told reporters, but because “We are in contact not only with Netanyahu, but also with the politicians and Israeli society” for whom the release of the hostages is fundamental.
The four to five day ceasefire could be extended if more hostages are released. The first phase (women and children) is considered the first step, which should be followed by other categories of hostages: “The goal is to bring them all home,” the American official said. A total of ten American citizens “disappeared” and probably fell into the hands of Hamas.
The dynamics
The American source explained the dynamics of the negotiations in a phone call that took place under an embargo to allow Qatar to announce the deal after approval from both Israel and Hamas. After October 7, “Qatar came forward with the Americans and Israelis and said it was unacceptable that hostages had been taken and that they had to be released,” the official explains. The Qataris begin to cooperate with the Israelis, the Americans and the Egyptians: the official also recognizes that the latter has a “crucial” role in communicating with Hamas. In the United States, the issue is being pursued by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s team, but President Joe Biden himself is “personally involved”, with 13 phone calls and a face-to-face meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, three other phone calls with Egyptian President Al Sisi and two with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
On October 13, Biden speaks to the families of the hostages via Zoom. On October 18, the American president visits Israel, where he “clarifies that humanitarian aid must reach Gaza” and that Washington “does not agree with the siege” of the Gaza Strip. Hamas is currently trying to link the release of the hostages to the infiltration of fuel, the official explains. Five days later, on October 23, the first two American women were released by Hamas: for Washington, this was a kind of test that led to increased efforts for a broader release of hostages, which also included William Burns, director of the CIA, David Barnea, the head of the Mossad, who met the Qataris and the Egyptians, was involved.
From October 22 to 25, Biden and Netanyahu spoke daily about the hostage agreement as the “only sure way to ensure a humanitarian agreement”; On October 26, the President discussed this directly with the Foreign Minister in Doha: We began talking about possible “Fas,” starting with women and children in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. On November 12, Biden calls Qatar: He explains that “identification of age, gender and nationality in the group of 50 hostages” is required. An important call that will prompt Hamas to provide this information. The next day, Sullivan meets with relatives of the hostages at the White House. Meanwhile, Biden speaks with Netanyahu, who agrees. Sullivan and Ron Dermer, Israel’s strategic affairs minister, speak several times a day to find the formula. Israel estimates there are more than 50 women and children involved, and it is difficult to decide what to do next should.
On November 14, it seemed as if we were close to an agreement, but the dialogue suddenly broke down: Hamas stopped communication with Doha and Cairo. On November 17, President Biden calls the Emir of Qatar again: “We have to close,” he tells him. The next day, Biden advisor Brett McGurck travels to Doha to personally discuss the deal. The details of the implementation are given on both sides of 6 black and white pages. The White House refuses to say whether these pauses could lead to a broader ceasefire: “It’s not an American war,” although “we have influence and we use it.” President Biden, the administration official concludes, remains convinced that “the path to Israel’s security lies through a Palestinian state, and he is committed to doing everything in his power as we emerge from this crisis.”