The following is the transcript of an interview with Brett McGurk, the White House National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that aired on Jan.

The negotiations that led to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement took months and months. At the center of the talks representing the United States was Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.

In a rare move hours after the cease-fire took effect, one senior Hamas official said the group wants to engage the new Trump administration.

Lead U.S. Negotiator on the Israel-Hamas Hostage Deal Brett McGurk tells CNN’s Wolf Blitzer he formed a “very close partnership, even friendship” with President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff amid the ceasefire and hostage negotiations.

Biden officials involved in the effort acknowledged that President-elect Donald Trump’s threats and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff’s participation during the final week of negotiations played a major role in bringing across the finish line a deal they had struggled to reach for more than a year.

As the first three Israeli hostages held by Hamas were released to the Red Cross, Brett McGurk, the White House National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, tells "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that the ceasefire deal is a "detailed,

The story of how Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza stretches back over more than a year. The timing and unlikely partners who coalesced to push negotiations across the line help explain why it finally happened.

Israeli Ambassador to U.S. Michael Herzog told "FOX News Sunday" that the deal struck with Hamas to exchange hostages in exchange for a ceasefire is the result of "an unprecedented cooperation between the outgoing administration and incoming administration.

President Joe Biden and his top diplomats, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had sought closure during his term.

On January 11, Witkoff flew to Israel, securing a meeting with Netanyahu. McGurk called in from Doha. Netanyahu agreed to send the heads of Israeli intelligence and internal security back to Doha for negotiations, which mostly took place in the Qatari prime minister’s private office.

After 14 months of talks, Trump’s threats and his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, played a major role in helping Biden officials reach the finish line.