A ceasefire agreement in Gaza has been reached between Israel and Hamas after more than 15 months of war. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have mediated the long-running efforts to halt the fighting in the ravaged Palestinian territory, often coming close to a deal before a frustrating breakdown in negotiations.
The latest round of talks proved successful this week, with all sides bringing their top negotiators to the Qatari capital, Doha.
Here is a look at the key players who negotiated the deal:
The head of Israel’s spy agency headed up Israel’s negotiation team throughout the negotiation process.
Working alongside the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency and top political and military advisers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and meeting with the Biden administration, Barnea was the highest-profile member of the Israeli negotiating team — but kept his own proclivities private during the talks.
The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency also has been involved in negotiations for months. Bar’s agency handles matters relating to Palestinian security prisoners, some of whom, under the agreed-upon deal, are set to be released by Israel in exchange for hostages.
Bar has led the agency since 2021. Just days after the devastating Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel that launched the war, he took responsibility for failing to thwart the militants. He said investigations into what happened would need to come after the war.
President Joe Biden’s top Middle East adviser has been putting together a draft of the deal from the discussions with the two sides as the lead negotiator in the Israel-Hamas negotiations.
McGurk has been a fixture in U.S. Mideast policy for more than two decades in the National Security Council and White House under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
He’s shuttled frequently to the Middle East for talks with senior officials about the conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.
President-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East has met separately in recent weeks with Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, another key mediator.
Witkoff, a Florida real estate investor and co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee, has kept in contact with Biden’s foreign policy team as the incoming Trump and outgoing Biden administrations coordinated on the deal.
Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister led his country’s pivotal mediation efforts in the stop-start negotiations. He has been a key communicator with Hamas throughout the process, as Israel and Hamas have not communicated directly.
The most consequential phase of negotiations — those that have occurred over the last few weeks — took place in Doha, his country’s capital.
Al Thani said the ceasefire would take effect Sunday.
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