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The frantic effort behind the Hamas-Israel truce deal

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="EPA-EFE/File." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/11/22/20231122-biden-netanyahu-epa-efe.jpg"/><figcaption>US President Joe Biden (L) looks on during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 18, 2023. <em>Miriam Alster, EPA-EFE/File.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>WASHINGTON, United States — A secret cell headed by CIA and Mossad chiefs, and multiple contacts between US President Joe Biden and leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt underpinned an &quot;excruciating&quot; five weeks resulting in the truce agreement, a US official said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/22/23/israel-hamas-agree-to-truce-50-hostages-to-be-released">Israel, Hamas agree to truce, 50 hostages to be released</a></li></ul><p>In a detailed account to reporters by a senior US official speaking on condition of anonymity, a picture has emerged of a tense international effort beset by sudden communication cutoffs with Hamas, disputes over hostage lists, and safety concerns on the ground.</p><p>The US official said the &quot;extremely excruciating five-week process&quot; of negotiations began with a call from Qatar to Washington and the Israelis, in a bid to free some of the hostages snatched by Palestinian militants during their October 7 raids on Israel.</p><p>On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas announced a truce deal allowing the release of at least 50 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.</p><p>Qatar, which brokered the agreement, &quot;asked that a cell be established to work on the issue very carefully, very secretly, together with the Israelis&quot;, the US official said.</p><p>Qatar hosts a Hamas political office, and has behind-the-scenes diplomatic links with Israel. It is also home to the largest US military base in the region.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/22/23/brics-calls-for-sustained-truce-in-israel-hamas-war">BRICS calls for &#x27;sustained&#x27; truce in Israel-Hamas war</a></li></ul><p>Biden administration officials were having &quot;daily, sometimes hourly, senior level of engagement with Qatar, with Egypt and with Israel on the issue of the hostages,&quot; according to the official.</p><p>The president himself entered the talks, holding Zoom calls with families of victims on October 13, followed by his visit to Israel five days later.</p><p>The release of two American citizens on October 20 was seen as &quot;a pilot process&quot; for the overall negotiations, the official said.</p><p>&quot;We were able to track, kind of in real time, the (hostages) as they moved from Gaza, ultimately across the border and into freedom,&quot; the American said.</p><p>Their safe return &quot;gave us some confidence that... Qatar really could deliver through the cell that we had established.&quot;</p><div><strong>Biden &#x27;engaged daily&#x27; </strong></div><p>Soon Mossad director David Barnea and CIA chief William Burns were also deeply involved.</p><p>A flurry of phone calls between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed on October 20, 22, 23 and 25.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/20/23/israel-minister-urges-voluntary-resettlement-of-gazans">Israel minister urges &#x27;voluntary resettlement&#x27; of Gazans</a></li></ul><p>Biden &quot;was engaged daily as extremely difficult talks and proposals were traded back and forth,&quot; the official said, noting that discussions centered around transportation corridors, surveillance and timeframes.</p><p>Hamas came under intense pressure to produce a list of hostages.</p><p>Communication proved difficult as messages had to pass from Doha or Cairo into Gaza and back.</p><p>By October 25, Hamas was saying it could guarantee about 50 releases in the first phase, but their formal list came up short: just 10 names.</p><p>On November 9, the CIA&#x27;s Burns rushed to Doha to help thrash out a deal text, but the identification of hostages remained a sticking point.</p><p>Biden called the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, on November 12 and &quot;made very clear that where we were was not enough,&quot; the US official said.</p><p>Shortly afterwards, &quot;Hamas produced the identifying criteria for the 50 hostages.&quot;</p><p>As Israel&#x27;s bombing of Gaza intensified and civilian deaths soared, Biden called Netanyahu on November 14 urging him to &quot;move forward with this deal,&quot; and the prime minister ultimately agreed, the official said.</p><p>But suddenly, with a deal in sight that day, &quot;everything stalled again,&quot; the US official said. Hamas had broken off talks.</p><p>Biden called the Qatari emir on November 17, according to the official, to make clear the deal &quot;had to close.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/20/23/qatar-pm-says-only-minor-challenges-to-israel-hamas-hostage-deal">Qatar PM says only &#x27;minor&#x27; challenges to Israel-Hamas hostage deal</a></li></ul><p>Two days later, the Americans met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and received assurances from Hamas &quot;closing the gaps,&quot; the US official said.</p><p>&quot;For the first time (they) really see this coming together.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2880180" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The US official said the 'extremely excruciating five-week process' of negotiations began with a call from Qatar to Washington and the Israelis.