Media reports reveal what facilitated the peace agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to Biden's administration.

Against the backdrop of stalled negotiations for the release of hostages, the U.S. prioritized supporting Israel in "debunking" the Hezbollah group. This further isolated Hamas and forced the terrorists to exhibit greater flexibility in ceasefire discussions.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing The Times of Israel.

A senior American official, during a press briefing in Qatar, attempted to portray the Biden administration's role as crucial in achieving an agreement.

However, other U.S. officials who spoke with the publication over the past months acknowledged that Washington did not immediately support Israel's decision in September to escalate military operations against Hezbollah.

American officials stated that Israel did not notify Washington before carrying out mass disruptions of communication systems (pagers - ed.), which resulted in thousands of Hezbollah militants being injured, nor before the IDF conducted an airstrike that killed the leader of the terrorist group Hassan Nasrallah.

Nevertheless, the U.S. began to support Israel's campaign against the Lebanese group post-factum, postponing the initiative for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon at the end of September. After Israel ceased its massive strikes against Hezbollah two months later, the U.S. acted as a mediator in achieving a permanent ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist organization.

A senior Biden representative stated during a press briefing that the ceasefire and hostage release agreement signed on January 15 was based on an Israeli proposal submitted on May 27, which Biden announced in a speech at the White House four days later.

The negotiations were intermittent, and in early July, Hamas agreed to the proposal and made several amendments.

The U.S. official claims that Hamas's response was one that no Israeli government could accept, as it was essentially a "everyone for everyone" deal that required Israel to fully withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip while keeping the Palestinian group in power. This contradicts what Israeli and Arab officials familiar with the negotiations said about Hamas's proposal, asserting that it was not a radical departure from Israel's previous offer.

Moreover, the Israeli negotiating team, consisting of security service leaders, then urged the government to approve Hamas's response. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to impose conditions for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, which led to the breakdown of negotiations, as reported by Arab, Israeli, and American officials at the time.

Breakdown of Negotiations and Strategy Shift

In August, the U.S. attempted to resume negotiations. However, these months-long efforts failed after Hamas executed six hostages, including American-Israeli citizen Gersh Goldberg-Polin, as their captors feared that IDF troops were approaching the tunnel where they were held in the southern city of Rafah in Gaza.

"After that, we really shifted our focus, and our strategy became... a campaign in Lebanon aimed at neutralizing Hezbollah. We supported the Israelis... because as long as Hezbollah claimed it would continue (to support) another front against Israel... Hamas was not under enough pressure and isolation to make a deal and release the hostages," said a senior U.S. official during the briefing.

The official further noted that after Israel accomplished many of its operational tasks against Hezbollah in October, Biden's top aides returned to the region. There, they met with Netanyahu, who agreed to work on a ceasefire in Lebanon with U.S. mediation, which could then be aligned with a ceasefire in Gaza. The Lebanese agreement was reached on November 27.

Pressure from Trump's Ambassador Surpassed Biden Team's Efforts

Less than two weeks after that, Biden's top aides traveled to the region to resume negotiations and largely remained there until an agreement was reached on Wednesday, January 15.

Last week, White House envoy to the Middle East Brett McGurk was joined in Doha by the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump's ambassador to the Middle East, Steve Whittcoff. Their partnership was "crucial" in securing the hostage release agreement.

Arab officials familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel that it was Whittcoff's Saturday meeting with Netanyahu that led to a breakthrough in the negotiations. This occurred when Trump's ambassador pressured Netanyahu more strongly and effectively in one sitting than the Biden administration had over an entire year.

In the last few days, negotiations took place in a building in Doha, where the Israeli and American teams were located on the second floor, the Hamas team on the first, and the Egyptian and Qatari teams moved between them, added the U.S. official.

At the last minute, Hamas attempted to put forth new demands, but "we stood very firm, and now we have an agreement," the official noted.

Peace Agreement Between Israel and Hamas

The agreement between Israel and Hamas on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of hostages was reached by the parties on January 15.

The document will come into effect and be operational from January 19.

At the White House, they predict the cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip following the document's activation.