Hamas relented in ceasefire talks with Israel because of pressure from President-elect Donald Trump to get a deal in place before he took office, reports NBC News.
Hamas on Thursday agreed to yield to two of Israel's "key demands" for a ceasefire deal in Gaza, including allowing the IDF to remain in Gaza temporarily during the pause in fighting.
The terrorist group has also handed over a list of hostages to Israel, including U.S. citizens, something it had not previously done, according to Arab mediators who spoke with the Wall Street Journal.
The hostages, according to the report, would be released under a "ceasefire pact," should it be reached.
Trump earlier this month wrote on Truth Social: "Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire world, in the Middle East — but it's all talk, and no action!
"If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity," he added.
A senior administration official who spoke with NBC said, "there is a confidence we have not seen since May when the president [Joe Biden] presented his proposal."
Trump's warning was "a big factor" in recent concessions, he added.
Biden has apparently not pushed back on Trump's efforts to be engaged in talks.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday said the Biden administration has had "very good consultation and coordination," with the incoming Trump team.
"We talk to them about how we can send a common message that the United States, no matter who's sitting in the Oval Office, no matter whose party is in charge, wants to see this ceasefire and hostage deal and see it now, that is all part of the American contribution to an effort to ultimately produce an outcome here," Sullivan said, speaking from Tel Aviv. "And we're going to keep working until we get it done."