Back to 1979: Hostage crisis in Gaza mirrors historic US-Iran tensions

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

On November 4, 1979, amidst the Islamic Revolution in Iran, a group claiming to be Iranian students seized 52 American citizens at the US Embassy in Tehran. 

A year later, on November 4, 1980, with the hostage crisis unresolved, the US presidential election saw Jimmy Carter defeated by Ronald Reagan. On Reagan's first day in office, January 20, 1981, all the hostages were released following an American-Iranian deal brokered by Algeria, ending a 444-day ordeal and presenting a symbolic gift to the newly elected president.

Fast forward 44 years, a similar scenario is unfolding, this time in the Gaza Strip. 

Following the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7, Hamas captured hundreds of Israelis, including dual nationals holding American citizenship. As this crisis lingers, it coincides with a heated US presidential election, just four months away.

Negotiations, mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, are underway to secure the hostages' release. 

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to yield to the pressures from mediators and internal calls for a swift resolution. Israel's Energy Minister recently stated that a deal would be reached within two weeks as the Israeli negotiation team heads back to Doha on Thursday.

The pressing question remains: Who will benefit from the deal's timing? 

If Netanyahu agrees to the deal before the US elections on November 5, it could provide the Democrats with a significant boost, especially among Arab-American voters in swing states who support the Palestinian cause and stop the war. 

Conversely, delaying the deal until after the elections could mirror the 1981 Iranian hostage resolution, potentially opening a new chapter in US-Israeli relations under a different political climate.