Behind the scenes of the Israel deal with Hamas for the release of 50 hostages

It’s the biggest breakthrough since the Israel-Hamas war began on 7 October.After more than six weeks of intense fighting, Israel and Hamas have reached a deal for the release of some hostages, who were abducted from Israeli territory. The country’s Cabinet has approved the deal in exchange for a pause in fighting. The negotiations between the two warring sides have been going on for weeks, with Qatar playing mediator and Israel’s biggest ally, the United States, being involved. We take a look at what the tentative deal involves and how it was reached. What is the deal approved by the Israeli Cabinet? Israel’s Cabinet has approved a deal that would see the release of 50 hostages, women and children, who are held in Gaza by Hamas. In exchange, it has agreed to a four-day truce in the air and ground offensive in the enclave, according to a statement by the Israeli government. “The government of Israel is obligated to return home all of the hostages… Tonight, the government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held,” the statement from the office of Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “The release of every additional 10 hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.” The Hamas attackers kidnapped about 240 hostages during the 7 October assault . Four hostages, including two Americans , have since been released, one has been rescued and two others were found dead. [caption id=“attachment_13416072” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. The statement from the office of Israel’s PM said that while the Cabinet has okayed the release of hostages and a pause in fighting, the war will continue. File photo/Reuters[/caption] What’s in the deal for Hamas? According to a statement by Hamas released early Wednesday, 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails will be released as part of the deal. The prisoners are women and children, it said. The Palestinian militant group confirmed the deal, brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediation, which will see the release of 50 hostages, also women and children, held in Gaza. The agreement also allows the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, medical supplies and fuel into Gaza, the Hamas statement said. However, the statement from Israel does not mention the release of Palestinian prisoners or the entry of aid. A senior US official said Israel “will release a number of Palestinian prisoners” but did not specify the exact figure. [caption id=“attachment_13416132” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Protesters march during a demonstration in support of Gaza in Paris. File photo/AP[/caption] How was the deal reached? The Israeli Cabinet meeting to discuss the possible hostage deal lasted for six hours. The mortality of the agreement and its implications on the ongoing war were reportedly discussed. Concerns about the deal were first raised by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who ended up supporting it, according to Gal Hirsch. Two people voted against the pact, one of whom was far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to a CNN report. But before the deal was taken up by the Israeli Cabinet for discussion, hectic negotiations were on between Israel and Hamas. “After difficult and complicated negotiations over long days we announce that we have arrived at an agreement on a four-day humanitarian truce that was reached through Qatari and Egyptian efforts,” Hamas said in a statement. Qatar has been at the forefront of the negotiations and earlier brokered a deal between Israel, Hamas and Egypt to release civilians from Gaza. Now it has played a key role in the latest agreement, considered the first major breakthrough since the war began. In a statement announcing “an agreement for a humanitarian pause”, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the pause in fighting would last four days, with the possibility of being extended longer. It said the start of the pause would be announced within 24 hours. Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that he had spoken with US president Joe Biden in recent days and asked him to help improve the deal. “It was improved so that it will include more hostages for a lower cost,” Netanyahu said. Also read: Why Qatar has become indispensable in the Israel-Hamas war What role did the US and Qatar play? The groundwork for the deal began days after the attack, once the US were confident that communication with Hamas via Qatar was effective. The release of two American hostages from Gaza on 23 October was crucial. It was proof to the Biden administration that the US established successful communication and negotiations with Hamas via Qatar, according to a report on CNN. After this started efforts to secure the release of a larger number of hostages. On behalf of Israelis, the director of Mossad David Barnea was delegated to negotiate and in the US, CIA director Bill Burns was involved. The others who played their part were Secretary of State Antony Blinken , national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his deputy Jon Finer, and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk. In Doha, Qatar’s prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was in direct contact with senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the report says. McGurk, a seasoned diplomat with deep experience in the Middle East, held daily morning calls with the Qatar PM and reported back to Sullivan and Biden, according to a report in Reuters. [caption id=“attachment_13416162” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Qatar’s PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and US secretary of state Antony Blinken, attend a meeting, in Doha, Qatar, on 13 October. The US played a key role in reaching the hostage deal. Reuters[/caption] Biden and Netanyahu exchanged multiple phone calls. On 24 October, Hamas reportedly agreed to a deal to release women and children even as the US and Israel debated if the ground invasion of Gaza should be delayed. Israel wanted proof that the hostages were still alive. The US agreed and demanded through Qatar proof of life or identifying information for women and children held by Hamas. While Hamas said it could guarantee 50 in the first phase, it refused to produce a list of identifying criteria. On 9 November, Burns met with the Qatari leader and Mossad’s Barnea in Doha to go through the texts of the emerging arrangement. The key obstacle at that point was that Hamas had not identified who it was holding. Three days later, Biden called the emir of Qatar and demanded to know the names or clear identifying information for the 50 hostages including ages, gender and nationalities. Without the information, the official said, there was no basis to move forward. Soon after, Hamas finally agreed to offer information about the age and identities of hostages. In a call on 14 November, Biden urged Netanyahu to take the deal. The Israeli PM agreed. McGruk met Netanyahu in Israel the same day. The Israeli PM said, “We need the deal”. He urged Biden to call the emir of Qatar on the final terms, an official told Reuters. But after this, Qatari officials could not get in touch with Hamas and when the group reappeared it threatened to derail the negotiations, demanding that the Israeli Defense Forces, who had raided Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, leave. The Israeli military carried on its operations but agreed to keep the hospital running, the CNN report says. When talks resumed, Biden was in San Francisco for the APEC summit . He made one more call to the Qatari emir and his message was clear: Time was up. The Qatari leader assured Biden that he would do everything possible to close the deal. [caption id=“attachment_13416182” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Protesters hold placards of Israeli child hostages outside the Tel Aviv offices of Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), in Tel Aviv, Israel on 20 November. Reuters[/caption] On 18 November, McGurk met the Qatari PM in Doha again; Burns joined the talks over the phone after speaking with Mossad. The last remaining gaps toward a deal were agreed upon. In Cairo the next morning, McGurk met with Egypt intelligence chief Abbas Kamil. Hamas leaders in Gaza sent word that they accepted nearly all the agreements worked out the day before in Doha. But there was one glitch – the number of hostages to be released in the first phase and the ultimate structure of the deal to incentivise releases beyond the 50 women and children, the officials told Reuters. A few other contacts ensued and the deal was agreed upon. With inputs from agencies