Weeks of secret hostage negotiations with Hamas were hanging by a thread when President Biden phoned the emir of Qatar, a key emissary to the militant group, to deliver an urgent message.
Yahya Sinwar , the Hamas leader in Gaza, had gone dark after the Israeli military seized control of Al-Shifa hospital, a facility Israel said Hamas used as a command-and-control center.
Now that the fighting at the hospital was over, Sinwar had re-emerged from the shadows, and he was ready to negotiate.
Persons:
Biden, Yahya Sinwar, Sinwar
Locations:
Qatar, Gaza, Israel