After more than a year of war, Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a ceasefire, in which the hostages held by Hamas will be released in stages, with Israel also releasing some Palestinian prisoners while pausing the fighting.
“Hamas and its allied militant groups are expected to release 33 hostages seized from Israel during the attacks of October 7, 2023,” CNN’s report about the deal stated. “In return, Israel will free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The agreement would deliver the first reprieve from war for the people of Gaza in more than a year, and only the second since the Israeli bombardment began.”
The ongoing war had cast a shadow over President Biden’s final year in office, with the Biden-Harris Administration’s handling of the matter cited as a reason why many people, regardless of their views, did not vote for Harris last November.
And even though he won’t be president for another week, Donald Trump has already claimed credit for the deal while using probably history’s first-ever invocation of the phrase “EPIC ceasefire agreement.”
This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies. I am thrilled American and…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 15, 2025
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“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump said on Truth Social Wednesday. “I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
The Biden Administration had been pushing for a ceasefire for most of 2024 while also approving various weapons sales to Israel, and the general understanding is that Israel’s government had resisted those overtures, believing that if Trump won the election, they would get better terms than under Biden. The Trump team, however, pushed for terms similar to those on the table last year.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, participated in the talks and “forced Israel to accept a plan that Netanyahu had repeatedly rejected over the past half year.”
“Witkoff isn’t a diplomat. He doesn’t talk like a diplomat, he has no interest in diplomatic manners and diplomatic protocols,” a senior Israeli diplomat told Haaretz. “He’s a businessman who wants to reach a deal quickly and charges ahead unusually aggressively.”
Photo courtesy of Political Tribune media library.
