Consider This from NPR - Diplomats Race The Clock To Free Hostages Before Ground Invasion

Episode Date: October 24, 2023

During the brutal Hamas-led attack on Israel earlier this month, more than 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 200 Israeli and foreign hostages were kidnapped.So far, Hamas has released just four hostages. The families of the remaining hostages fear that time may be running out to save their loved ones. Israeli airstrikes continue and a ground invasion into Gaza seems imminent. Experts say that would put the hostages in danger.NPR's Michele Kelemen speaks to host Juana Summers about the diplomatic efforts to free the remaining hostages.And host Mary Louise Kelly talks to Bader Al-Saif, a professor of history at Kuwait University, on the Gulf nation of Qatar's role in negotiating for the hostages' release.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey, it's Aisha Harris from Pop Culture Happy Hour. If you love NPR podcasts, you'll want the new NPR Plus podcast bundle. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat selection of NPR Plus podcasts with sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes. Plus, you'll be supporting public radio. Check it out at plus.npr.org. Ben Renan was bracing for a day like the one he'd been reliving for nearly two weeks. Another day of very sad interviews, exhausting interviews, trying to get Natalie and Judith back home. Judith Tai Renan and her daughter, Natalie Shoshana Renan, from suburban Chicago, were taken hostage by Hamas during its invasion of Israel earlier this month. Ben Renan is Natalie's older brother. Instead, on Friday, the family got the news they had been

desperate for. Natalie and Judith were being released. When this news hit, it was like all the emotions that we had been holding while we were fighting for them just erupted. You know, it's 13 days, but it feels like 13 years trying to keep composure because you know that getting emotional isn't going to solve anything. And it seems surreal that suddenly, I won't even say it's over, we're on to the next journey of what this is, which is their recovery. So far, Hamas has released just four of more than 200 hostages it captured during its attack on October 7th. As relieved as Ben Renan is, he knows that many other families are still living a nightmare. In this moment of elation, we're grieving for all the families that are still being kept hostage. Many of those families feel like they're in a race against the clock. Israel has signaled that it is preparing a major ground invasion of the Gaza

Strip. Experts say that would put the hostages in danger. And Israel has continued its campaign of airstrikes. Airstrikes Hamas claims have already killed several hostages, though those claims could not be confirmed. That's why demonstrators like Ghali Mir Taban have held protests outside of Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding the government do more to free the hostages. First, we need to bring them back home. All the other things can wait. Consider this. International diplomats are hard at work to try to get more hostages released. Will their success depend on getting Israel to delay its ground invasion? From NPR, I'm Juana Summers. It's Tuesday, October 24th. It's Consider This from NPR.

So far, just four hostages have been released by Hamas. 85-year-old Yokeved Lifshitz and one other hostage were freed late last night. Lifshitz said she went through a living hell. She spoke to journalists at a press conference at a Tel Aviv hospital where she was being treated. Her daughter stood by her side and translated. My mom is saying that she was taken on the back of a motorbike, that she was taken through the plowed fields, and that while she was being taken, she was hit by sticks. But Lifshitz added that she was treated kindly by her captors. When she first arrived, they told them that they are Muslims and they're not going to hurt them.

I spoke with NPR's Michelle Kellerman about the international diplomatic efforts to free the remaining hostages, an effort that may depend on whether Israel can be convinced to delay a ground offensive. Hamas is believed to be holding 220 hostages, children, men, women, the elderly, and nationals of many countries. The U.S. says there are still 10 Americans missing, and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says the administration is very focused on this. It is literally an hour by hour effort here at the White House and at the State Department to find out where these folks are and to try to make the effort to get them out and get them back. He also says there are several hundred Palestinian Americans who are trying to

get out of Gaza as Israel continues to bombard the area. The U.S. has been trying to get them through a border crossing with Egypt, but Egypt is pushing for more aid to get in. The U.N. says only about 54 trucks have gotten in in recent days, but no fuel. And this is a drop in the bucket for what's needed. Palestinians say 5,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. You know, there were 1,400 Israelis killed by Hamas. Michelle, I mean, how much is the hostage diplomacy weighing on officials as they talk to Israel about preparations for a future ground offensive? Well, certainly family members want to give diplomacy more time.

You're also hearing that from European diplomats. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is going to Israel this week, and the fate of French hostages will be on his agenda. You know, Juana, I talked to Christopher O'Leary, who used to be the director of hostage recovery for the U.S. government. He's now with a security consultancy called the Soufan Group. And he says the U.S. and others could argue for a delay, but he added this. Hamas is playing a very deliberate, calculated game. This is part of their broader strategy. They were going to try to drag this out and change the narrative from what they did on October 7th to somewhat being victims. The U.S. and Israel don't want to let Hamas buy time to rest and refit, as one State Department spokesman said today.

And Michelle, in the short time we have left, is the United States asking Israel to delay its ground offensive to allow for more hostages to be released? Well, officials won't say that publicly, but they are offering some words of caution behind closed doors with Israel. And there are other reasons why, not just the hostage situation. There's a big fear of regional blowback. That could mean threats against U.S. embassies and military bases. So U.S. officials are talking about steps they're taking to beef up security in the region with aircraft carrier groups and with other forces to prepare for that kind of blowback. NPR's Michelle Kellerman.

One of the key players in the negotiations over the hostages is the Gulf nation of Qatar. This is not the first time Qatar has stepped in to mediate conflicts in the region. And to help us understand why, we reached out to Badr Alsaif, a professor of history at Kuwait University. He spoke with my co-host, Mary Louise Kelly. All right, give me a little bit of the history here. How Qasr's influence with Hamas affords it a unique position to try to influence Hamas? Let me first speak about the way that Qatar perceives itself in the region. As a small state in a region dominated by large forces, it wanted to really shine and play an outsized role by presenting itself as a mediator. They've done this in the past.

They've successfully worked on deals that relate to Yemen in 2007, Lebanon in 2008, more recently Afghanistan, as you know, in 2021. Yeah, they helped get Americans out. Iran just a few weeks ago. This is such helpful background. Let me steer us to that question that I started out with, which is, why would Hamas listen to Qatar? Hamas has different ties with Qatar. Qatar has been a very key interlocutor when it comes to presenting aid to Gaza infrastructure

in the past. As you know, Gaza has been decimated a few times by Israel in the past, and that's required a lot of building up. And the reconstruction has been largely bailed by various parties in the region in the Middle East, but by Qatar as well. They also have a representation, I believe, in Doha, just like they had with the Taliban. In the capital. Exactly. So it makes more sense to have that line open for them to intervene when they already have a relationship, which isn't the case, by the way, with a lot of the countries in the region. And you spoke to this a little bit, but what is in it for Qatar?

I understand that they want to play this role. Is this about increasing their leverage on the world stage for such a tiny country? One, that's exactly it. Plus, Qatari foreign policy, as a small state, it requires a secure region for it to thrive. So they would like to see peace and prosperity become the mainstream in the region. That hasn't been the case, unfortunately, for the Middle East. And they can afford this as one of the richest countries in the region, a small-sized population, large GDP. And don't forget, Qatar has also been a victim of a gulf rift in the past few years when it was blockaded by different states. So in its world conception,

no one should go through this again. And hence, it strives to work with other parties to reduce conflict. So here is a challenge, which is Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., by Israel, by others. How does Qatar navigate that, particularly in light of its status as a U.S. ally? The way it has navigated the Iran card, all of the states that you've mentioned need someone to talk to a party that they're not talking to. So when you have someone that's in the standing of Qatar that can relay accurate messages and to get the ideas through, that's helpful. I mentioned there's still a couple hundred other hostages being held by Hamas, including Americans. Would you expect Qatar to continue to work with the U.S. on their

release? Oh, definitely. I think we are undergoing a very intense negotiation. But let's not look at the side story here. I think there is a bigger picture as well. Let's also look at the many, many lives lost from the Palestinian side and the many, many prisoners also in Israeli prisons. So I think they're trying to look at it in a holistic manner. How is this seen in other Arab capitals? Qatar's role as a mediator here. Qatar's role as a mediator is welcome news. And remember, this region tends to export a lot of bad news around the world and seldom do we get good airtime. This is one of those good airtimes in which there is a country that's playing a constructive role. And it fits into the larger positive role that the Gulf states are playing on the world stage from the Middle East.

That was Badr Alsaif of Kuwait University speaking with my co-host, Mary Louise Kelly. The team that brings you Consider This is also behind All Things Considered, our afternoon news show. It's a mix of the deep dive you get on the podcast along with more stories you'll want to hear. Visit npr.org slash allthingsc things considered to stream it live every afternoon. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Juana Summers.