Middle East crisis update: Gaza ceasefire to begin Sunday, says negotiator

It is a concrete example of cooperation between two men representing political rivals. Rarely has a current and new bipartisan team of presidents worked together at such a critical time, with the end of American lives and the future of a terrible war hanging in the balance. the balance.

Both Mr Trump and Mr Biden have publicly said they have benefited from progress.

“This EPIC cease-fire agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic Victory in November,” Mr. Trump wrote on his social media site even before it was officially announced in the Middle East. do not agree.

At the White House, Mr. Biden told reporters that his administration had been working hard for months to convince both sides to end the war. He called it “one of the toughest negotiations I’ve ever been involved in” and gave credit to the “extraordinary team of American diplomats who worked tirelessly for months to make it happen.”

As he left the room, a reporter asked Mr. Biden, “Who gets the credit for that, Mr. President, you or Trump?” Mr. Biden stopped, turned and smiled.

“Is this a joke?” he asked.

But despite the tension between the current president and the next, their representatives in the Middle East described the cooperation in the week after election day.

“Brett is in charge,” Mr. Witkoff said last week at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump in Florida, described a working relationship. That description was considered accurate by both camps, although it was inconsistent with what Mr. Trump had said moments earlier in one of several statements describing his negotiator as a critical player.

In fact, Mr. Trump’s threat that “all hell” would break loose if no deal was reached before his inauguration on Monday may have helped Hamas leaders make a final decision. But people familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday’s announcement of a deal to temporarily end hostilities in Gaza was the result of months of work by Mr. McGurk in the Middle East, culminating in efforts coordinated by Mr. Witkoff during several weeks.

Mr. Witkoff, 67, a flamboyant real estate investor from the Bronx, positioned himself in Qatar for negotiations, knowing that whatever Mr. McGurk will have to do it. In fact, the 33 hostages who will be released in the cease-fire agreement may not find freedom until Inauguration Day or later. The cease-fire expires six weeks later, unless Phase 2 of the agreement begins.

The goal is to send a unified message that the war must end and the hostages held by Hamas must be released. A person familiar with the negotiations, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the discussions, said Mr. McGurk was more involved in hashing out the details of the deal than Mr. Witkoff is to explain that Mr. Trump likes. contract at the time of his inauguration.

The president-elect also set some benchmarks in his relationship with Mr. Netanyahu – who, for all his support for Mr. Trump in the election, was seen by Trump’s camp as dragging his feet on agreement. Mr. Witkoff flew to Israel from Doha on Saturday — despite the Sabbath — to highlight Mr. Netanyahu’s message.

Mr. Witkoff’s work, including meetings with Mr. Netanyahu, helped McGurk and the Biden administration put pressure on each other during negotiations, according to the person familiar with the discussions. .

In a news release on Wednesday afternoon after the ceasefire deal was announced, Mr Netanyahu praised Trump, thanking him for “helping to release the hostages and helping Israel stop the suffering of dozens of people. hostages and their families.”

The mention of Mr. Biden was contained only in the last line of the release, saying that the prime minister “also thanked him for his help in advancing the hostage deal.”

It was not at all clear in the days after Mr. Trump won a second term that the Trump and Biden teams could work together. The relationship was further strained by Trump’s team’s willingness to purge White House staff and Biden’s last-minute team orders to box in the new administration.

In his speech on Wednesday, Mr. Biden acknowledged the cooperation and mutual respect between his aides.

“This agreement was drafted and negotiated under my administration, but the term will be enforced by most of the next administration,” Mr. Biden told reporters. “For the past few days, we’ve been talking as a team.”

But he stopped short of crediting Mr. Trump for helping the effort. For his part, the president-elect said he was “happy” that the American hostages would be released, but he did not mention Mr. Biden or the current administration’s actions.

“We’ve accomplished a lot without even being in the White House,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Just think of all the wonderful things that will happen when I get back.”

Mr. McGurk and Mr. Witkoff began meeting about the cease-fire agreement shortly after Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump spoke for two hours in the Oval Office, two days after Trump’s election victory. according to one person familiar with the negotiations.

Mr. McGurk kept Mr. Witkoff updated on the progress of negotiations in the Middle East, the person said, and invited Mr. Witkoff to join him in Doha for the latest round of negotiations last week, according to said the person. is a “very effective” process.

Officials in the Biden administration said they believe the deal began when Mr. Biden helped broker a separate agreement to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It isolated Hamas and helped convince the group that a ceasefire was in its best interest, the Biden official said.

But one person close to the discussions acknowledged that the partnership between Mr. McGurk and Mr. Witkoff was proof of what can be accomplished when political differences are put aside – even for a moment.