‘I’m here to save lives’: Inside the unlikely Biden-Trump partnership to secure a Gaza ceasefire

Brett McGurk, President Joe Biden's Middle East lead and a chief hostage negotiator, recounts how Biden's outgoing team and Donald Trump's incoming one tried to cooperate on a Gaza ceasefire deal. On Nov. 20, 2024, McGurk and national security advisor Jake Sullivan briefed their successors, Mike Waltz and Steve Witkoff, at the US Capitol. Earlier, McGurk had called Jared Kushner to say a deal was possible only if the two teams appeared united, according to CNN.

Talks had fallen apart in August after Hamas killed six hostages in a tunnel under Rafah, including the American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Israel then gained momentum: it detonated thousands of Hezbollah beepers on Sept. 17, 2024, launched a ground assault in southern Lebanon, and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by the end of September. Iran fired nearly two hundred missiles at Israel on Oct. 1. Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Oct. 16, which McGurk says removed a major obstacle and gave Israel room to bend. On Oct. 26, Israel struck Iranian air defenses after the United States helped steer it toward a more restrained response.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CNN’s reporting. Read the full story at CNN →