By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin By — Dan Sagalyn Dan Sagalyn By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara By — Veronica Vela Veronica Vela By — Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/compass-points/2026/10/inside-the-u-s-negotiations-to-free-the-oct-7-hostages Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Story Before the Oct. 7 attacks, the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia were on the brink of a historic agreement. Compass Points moderator Nick Schifrin discusses how close they were to normalization, the rush to release hostages and the U.S. response to the war in Gaza with Brett McGurk. He served across four administrations and is the author of "Brink.": Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages." By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin is PBS News Hour’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent and serves as the host of Compass Points from PBS News. @nickschifrin By — Dan Sagalyn Dan Sagalyn As the deputy senior producer for foreign affairs and defense at the PBS NewsHour, Dan plays a key role in helping oversee and produce the program’s foreign affairs and defense stories. His pieces have broken new ground on an array of military issues, exposing debates simmering outside the public eye. @DanSagalyn By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara is a producer for PBS News. By — Veronica Vela Veronica Vela By — Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi is a foreign affairs producer, based in Washington DC. She's a Columbia Journalism School graduate with an M.A. in Political journalism. She was one of the leading members of the NewsHour team that won the 2024 Peabody award for News for our coverage of the war in Gaza and Israel. @Zebaism By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold Alexa Gold is a producer for PBS News. By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert is an associate producer for PBS News.