The government of Qatar reached out to the White House shortly after Hamas militants took hostages in southern Israel on October 7th. They requested the formation of a small team of advisers to help secure the release of the captives. This request led to a secretive effort involving U.S. President Joe Biden, who held urgent conversations with the emir of Qatar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The team, which included Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials, worked tirelessly to negotiate a prisoner swap deal with Qatar and Egypt, agreed upon by Israel, Hamas, and the United States.
The initial contact from Qatar came with sensitive information about the hostages and the potential for their release. National Security Council official Jake Sullivan directed Brett McGurk and another official to establish a small team to work on the issue privately with the Israelis. This was done with extreme secrecy, with only a few people aware of the operation.
President Biden personally met with the families of the American hostages and traveled to Tel Aviv for talks with Netanyahu, where securing the release of the hostages was a central focus. The team’s work led to the release of two American hostages, Natalie and Judith Raanan.
The process of negotiating a deal for the release of more hostages was long and cumbersome. Communication was difficult, and messages had to be passed between Doha, Cairo, and Gaza. Biden had a phone call with the Qatari prime minister to ensure the names and identifying information of the 50 hostages were provided. Hamas eventually produced the details, and Biden urged Netanyahu to accept the deal.
Talks stalled but resumed when Biden called the emir of Qatar and emphasized that time was running out. Finally, on November 18th, the deal came together, with the agreement structured to release women and children in the first phase, with expectations for future releases.
Overall, this effort involved extensive diplomatic engagement by President Biden and his team, as well as the collaboration of Qatar, Egypt, Israel, and Hamas to secure the release of the hostages.
