The call last week from Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy was reportedly blunt and short on diplomatic nicety.
Steven Witkoff is said to have told aides to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, that he was headed to Israel on Saturday afternoon.
When informed that would be in the middle of the sabbath, but the prime minister could meet in the evening, his reply was apparently “salty” and clear, according to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper.
The sabbath did not interest Mr Witkoff, the aides were told.
Mr Netanyahu duly went to his office to meet the US envoy, who afterwards jetted back to Qatar to push further on a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.
The exchange over the weekend illustrated how negotiations stretching more than a year on how to end the war had been shaken up by the impending Trump administration, Israeli sources said.
With Israel and Hamas said to have agreed a ceasefire deal after months of heavy diplomatic efforts, it may be Mr Trump’s election victory which provided the final impetus to get an agreement over the line.
Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire and the release of dozens of Israeli hostages, although the plan still needs to be submitted to the Israeli cabinet for final approval.
The enemies have been discussing how to end the Gaza war by swapping Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners for more than a year.
‘Hostages Square’ in Tel Aviv, where Israelis remember the captives of Hamas – Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Discussions stretched into months of secret talks, spurred on by mediation from regional and global power brokers, particularly Washington, Qatar and Egypt.
While both sides had broadly agreed on the principle of halting the fighting in return for the release of hostages held by Hamas, and Palestinian detainees held by Israel, the detail and choreography remained elusive.
Hamas has always insisted that any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Israel said it would not end the war until Hamas had been comprehensively dismantled.
Throughout 2024, these sticking points proved insurmountable and caused talks to falter repeatedly.
Yet now, the change of administrations in Washington has provided not just a deadline and focus for negotiations but also injected a dose of uncertainty which has focused minds.
Joe Biden and his team had redoubled efforts to try to seal a deal and get a return on their intense diplomacy before they left office.
At the same time, the prospect of a maverick, unpredictable Trump presidency focused minds across the board.
The president-elect warned “all hell will break out” if hostages held by Hamas are not released by his inauguration on Jan 20.
At the same time, Mr Netanyahu reportedly came under significant pressure to accept a deal similar to the phased approach he rejected as far back as May 2024.
As Mr Trump’s close ally, Mr Witkoff attended talks alongside Brett McGurk, Mr Biden’s envoy, with the Biden team saying it is vital that Trump officials who will inherit any deal are involved.
As he shuttled from the Gulf to Israel, he reportedly put pressure on Mr Netanyahu to give ground.
The Florida property investor is close to the president-elect and was on the golf course with Mr Trump in September when a man is alleged to have attempted to kill the then-presidential candidate.
A senior Israeli diplomat told Haaretz: “Witkoff isn’t a diplomat. He doesn’t talk like a diplomat, he has no interest in diplomatic manners and diplomatic protocols.
“He’s a businessman who wants to reach a deal quickly and charges ahead unusually aggressively.”
Attempts at negotiation first began weeks after Hamas fighters stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 Israeli and foreign hostages.
Furious Israeli retaliation centred on heavy bombardment inside the Strip and a full-scale ground invasion which between them have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced.
The first fruits of talks were seen six weeks after the war began. On Nov 21 2023, the enemies announced a seven-day truce to exchange hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians jailed in Israel, and to let in more aid.
About half the hostages – women, children and foreigners – were released in return for 240 Palestinian women and teenage prisoners and detainees. Fighting then resumed on Dec 1.
In the months that followed, talks were on and off again.
The United States, Qatar – which had hosted a Hamas base in Doha since 2012 – and Egypt, neighbouring Israel, all made efforts to mediate.
Gradually, a phased approach emerged and was put on the table in May, but rejected with several sticking points stopping any deal going forward.
In the first stage, Hamas would release the most vulnerable hostages and Israeli forces would pull back from some areas, allowing some Palestinians to return to their homes and a surge of humanitarian aid.
That would be followed by a second step, negotiated during the first, when the rest of the living hostages would be released in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
A woman holds a sign to remind passing motorists of the Israelis held hostage in Gaza – Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty
However, Hamas said it would not release the remaining hostages, its most valuable bargaining chip, without assurances that the war would end.
Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu said Israel will not end the war until it has destroyed Hamas’ military and governing abilities so that the militant group no longer poses a threat.
The opponents also clashed on their visions for post-war Gaza. Israel says Hamas can never again rule Gaza, but the group still controls much of the territory.
Exactly how these obstacles were overcome, as yet, remains unclear.
Both Mr Trump and Mr Biden will try to take credit for the deal.
It was the president-elect who broke the news, writing on his Truth Social platform: “We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!”
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