Over the last week and a half, Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden’s lead hostage negotiator, has been living in Doha, Qatar.
He has done so to finalize a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal through intense meetings and tireless work.This deal, which has been poured over for hours, is more or less the one proposed weeks, or even months, ago.
The difference was that up until November 5, there was no hard deadline. On the morning of November 6, a deadline was set: January 20, 12 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, the moment US President-elect Donald Trump will assume the presidency.
Trump has made unmistakable statements over the last few weeks with an identical message: If there is no deal by January 20, there will be “hell to pay,” “all hell will break loose,” or other such variations.
Vice President-elect JD Vance explained on Sunday: “Allowing Israel to dismantle Hamas’s last battalions is what Trump means by ‘all hell’ [will break loose].
Pressure for hostage deal
The threat pressure was not only felt by Hamas, however, and over the past few days, Trump conveyed a message both to Qatari leadership and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the American hostages must come home “no matter what.”
Trump personally sent his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, for negotiations. This is an unprecedented move in the history of transitions between US administrations and conveys the intended message.
Witkoff and McGurk have worked closely together over the past few days, and there is a consensus between the outgoing and incoming administrations. This is remarkable, given that they disagree on most issues, and it is probably what further closed the gap between Israel and Hamas and the points they disagree on.
Trump will take credit, saying his threats are what closed the deal. Biden will say the deal that was closed was the one he presented back in May. That the deal was closed thanks to American pressure will hopefully be something the two could agree on.
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