President Joe Biden appeared to bristle Wednesday at any suggestion that President-elect Donald Trump gets credit for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage-release deal.
While Biden, during remarks at the White House, acknowledged the incoming Trump administration had some involvement, saying the two sides have “been speaking as one team,” he frequently stressed that his administration and foreign negotiators got the deal done, and was taken aback at the suggestion that Trump ultimately got the deal over the finish line:
Reporter: “Who gets credit for this [ceasefire deal], Mr. President? You or Trump?”
Biden: “Is that a joke?”
It is not clear what led to this breakthrough — the Biden administration has long pushed for a ceasefire and the release of hostages to no success. But Israel in November reached a deal with Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s rocket-firing into Israel, and some officials have suggested the impending changeover to the Trump administration added extra pressure on negotiations.
The ceasefire deal, which Israel’s Cabinet must rarify, mandates a pause in the devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip for 42 days starting Sunday, requires Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages, and orders Israel to release hundreds Palestinian prisoners. The deal would also bring in more humanitarian aid to Gaza, and, according to Biden, continue negotiations for a permanent end to the war.
More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. Palestinians in Gaza have faced a humanitarian crisis and are on the brink of famine in parts of the enclave.
This is just the second ceasefire since the war began following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, when the terrorist group killed over 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200 Israelis. A prior ceasefire, which happened around Thanksgiving that year, lasted only a few days.
