The Fort Worth Press - Behind the Gaza deal: a US odd couple and last-minute snags

USD -
AED 3.67298
AFN 72.04561
ALL 90.426454
AMD 393.432155
ANG 1.790208
AOA 915.999514
ARS 1073.539026
AUD 1.662925
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.697767
BAM 1.784082
BBD 2.031653
BDT 122.253136
BGN 1.783472
BHD 0.376858
BIF 2990.649943
BMD 1
BND 1.345222
BOB 6.952794
BRL 5.8688
BSD 1.006157
BTN 85.842645
BWP 14.014139
BYN 3.292862
BYR 19600
BZD 2.021163
CAD 1.42256
CDF 2873.000253
CHF 0.852102
CLF 0.0249
CLP 955.539989
CNY 7.28155
CNH 7.319425
COP 4181.71
CRC 509.007982
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 100.583808
CZK 22.978968
DJF 179.18358
DKK 6.779725
DOP 63.5439
DZD 133.362103
EGP 51.122457
ERN 15
ETB 132.622212
EUR 0.908545
FJD 2.33545
FKP 0.774458
GBP 0.774045
GEL 2.749879
GGP 0.774458
GHS 15.595895
GIP 0.774458
GMD 71.511953
GNF 8707.867731
GTQ 7.765564
GYD 210.508552
HKD 7.76747
HNL 25.744128
HRK 6.846702
HTG 131.657925
HUF 370.294993
IDR 17107.05
ILS 3.786485
IMP 0.774458
INR 85.67875
IQD 1318.129989
IRR 42100.000231
ISK 131.650446
JEP 0.774458
JMD 158.686431
JOD 0.708901
JPY 145.790981
KES 129.302255
KGS 86.768798
KHR 4028.278221
KMF 450.497808
KPW 900
KRW 1464.820499
KWD 0.30762
KYD 0.838495
KZT 510.166477
LAK 21794.298746
LBP 90155.803877
LKR 298.335234
LRD 201.240593
LSL 19.187412
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.866591
MAD 9.582851
MDL 17.779704
MGA 4665.906499
MKD 55.945995
MMK 2099.820881
MNT 3508.612
MOP 8.055188
MRU 40.127708
MUR 45.169802
MVR 15.398803
MWK 1744.766249
MXN 20.65045
MYR 4.465959
MZN 63.909895
NAD 19.187412
NGN 1544.690307
NIO 37.026226
NOK 10.831075
NPR 137.348233
NZD 1.797835
OMR 0.384971
PAB 1.006249
PEN 3.697332
PGK 4.15325
PHP 57.403
PKR 282.466317
PLN 3.88355
PYG 8066.59065
QAR 3.667868
RON 4.521101
RSD 106.437007
RUB 84.490919
RWF 1450.034208
SAR 3.753164
SBD 8.316332
SCR 14.349108
SDG 600.552097
SEK 10.05059
SGD 1.346445
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.749585
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 575.051311
SRD 36.646502
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.804561
SYP 13001.844432
SZL 19.194527
THB 34.5575
TJS 10.95252
TMT 3.5
TND 3.081231
TOP 2.342098
TRY 38.009301
TTD 6.815964
TWD 33.163798
TZS 2691.722
UAH 41.414641
UGX 3677.993158
UYU 42.563284
UZS 13000.684151
VES 70.161515
VND 25800
VUV 122.117563
WST 2.799576
XAF 598.364424
XAG 0.033482
XAU 0.00033
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.744173
XOF 598.364424
XPF 108.789054
YER 245.649928
ZAR 19.33705
ZMK 9001.195602
ZMW 27.896921
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    69.0200

    69.02

    +100%

  • CMSC

    0.0300

    22.29

    +0.13%

  • RYCEF

    -1.5500

    8.25

    -18.79%

  • VOD

    -0.8700

    8.5

    -10.24%

  • NGG

    -3.4600

    65.93

    -5.25%

  • BCC

    0.8100

    95.44

    +0.85%

  • RIO

    -3.7600

    54.67

    -6.88%

  • GSK

    -2.4800

    36.53

    -6.79%

  • CMSD

    0.1600

    22.83

    +0.7%

  • SCS

    -0.0600

    10.68

    -0.56%

  • RELX

    -3.2800

    48.16

    -6.81%

  • JRI

    -0.8600

    11.96

    -7.19%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    22.71

    +0.22%

  • BTI

    -2.0600

    39.86

    -5.17%

  • AZN

    -5.4600

    68.46

    -7.98%

  • BP

    -2.9600

    28.38

    -10.43%

Behind the Gaza deal: a US odd couple and last-minute snags
Behind the Gaza deal: a US odd couple and last-minute snags / Photo: © AFP

Behind the Gaza deal: a US odd couple and last-minute snags

The Israel-Hamas deal was made possible by 18-hour days and a "remarkable" partnership between Joe Biden and Donald Trump's Mideast envoys -- but even then it seemed it might come apart at the last minute.

Text size:

In the final four days of talks, Biden's pointman Brett McGurk was joined in the region by Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, to get the deal over the line, US officials said.

As they did so, Israeli and Hamas negotiators were huddling on separate floors of a building in the Qatari capital Doha, while moderators from Qatar and Egypt shuttled between them with their proposals.

McGurk and Witkoff were talking "multiple times a day, and Mr Witkoff actually helped clinch down some of the details. There was great coordination," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN.

A senior Biden administration official said that the unlikely pairing -- there is little love lost between the outgoing and incoming presidents -- had been a decisive factor in reaching a deal.

"Four days ago, Steve Witkoff came out to join Brett in his final push, which I think is, historically, almost unprecedented. And it was a highly constructive, very fruitful partnership," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"It was really quite, quite remarkable, and I think speaks to what can be done in the country."

Veteran diplomat McGurk has served in a number of US administrations, including in Trump's first term.

Witkoff is a businessman and real estate expert but has jumped into the negotiations -- even insisting that Netanyahu break the sabbath on Saturday for a meeting in his office as he pushed to seal the ceasefire.

The cooperation between the two US administrations didn't stop them battling over who should claim credit for a deal that had seemed out of reach for so many months.

Trump said the "epic" win would never have happened without his election putting pressure for a deal, while Biden said "is that a joke?" when a reporter asked which of them should get credit.

- 'Breakthrough' -

But the fact that they worked together at all underscores how crucial a deal was viewed by both presidents.

The seed was planted when Biden invited Trump to the Oval Office for a meeting eight days after the Republican's election win in November, and their national security teams agreed to meet, the US official said.

The knowledge that a new US administration would be starting on January 20 then galvanized the Israeli and Hamas sides alike.

"In any breakthrough diplomacy, sometimes you need a deadline," the official said.

But another key factor was the dramatic strategic shift in the region in the last half of 2024 that isolated Hamas from its Iranian backers.

Biden introduced the outline of the peace plan in May, but Washington had concluded that there would "never be a ceasefire" while Hamas's leader Yahya Sinwar was still alive, and while Hamas's Lebanese ally Hezbollah still opposed a deal, the Biden administration official said.

Then, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September, and Sinwar in October, while also taking out Iran's air defenses. The fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December was a further blow to Hamas.

Negotiations intensified after McGurk returned to the region on January 5 -- "18 hours a day, sometimes longer" -- but sticking points between Israel and Hamas remained.

The final 96 hours were the most intense of all.

One of the biggest hang-ups were the "incredibly complicated" lists for the exchanges of hostages held by Hamas with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

"All of that was not fully nailed down until the recent hours," the senior Biden administration official said.

Even then, nothing was agreed until everything was agreed.

"I have to say, it wasn't until this afternoon that we had full confidence that it's going to come together."

Biden himself expressed relief that the deal was finally done.

"At long last," he said as he announced the deal at the White House.

S.Weaver--TFWP