Trump’s Gaza deal forged by diplomacy blitz, lots of help from Arab and Muslim allies
Senior US officials say Hamas viewed the hostages as a liability - while the US seized on regional fury with Israel to secure first phase deal
After months of gridlock, US President Donald Trump finally landed a long-sought Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza - an agreement that only came together after a weeks-long diplomacy blitz and a whole lot of help from some Arab and Muslim allies.
The breakthrough is designed to bring about a pause in the fighting unleashed by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The group is expected to release 48 hostages - about 20 of them believed to be alive - in the coming days.
The brutal war finally reached a turning point because a badly battered Hamas recognised the hostages had become more of a liability than an asset, according to two senior US officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss internal deliberations.
One of the officials said negotiators, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, believed they finally had an opening when they sensed that “Hamas had enough”.
Still, the way to an agreement had remained complicated, leaving the US administration in the difficult position of negotiating through a thicket of distrust between Israel and its Middle East neighbours that was in danger of further metastasising.