President Joe Biden delivered a message to the U.S. Wednesday as a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been reached, pausing the devastating 15-month war in Gaza and clearing the way for dozens of Israeli hostages to go home.
Officials had said earlier Wednesday that a deal had been reached, but there was still no confirmation from Israel.
Both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are claiming credit for the deal being reached.
Biden said in his statement that a deal was reached under “the precise contours” of a plan that he set out in late in May.
“It is the result not only of the extreme pressure that Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and weakening of Iran — but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy,” Biden said. “My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done.”
Even though final details were still being ironed out, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, Trump did not hesitate to assert he was the moving force behind the deal.
“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 wrote on social media. “I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
Trump added that his incoming Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, would continue “to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”
Read Biden's full statement below:
Today, after many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage deal. This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.
I laid out the precise contours of this plan on May 31, 2024, after which it was endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council. It is the result not only of the extreme pressure that Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and weakening of Iran — but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy. My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done.
Even as we welcome this news, we remember all the families whose loved ones were killed in Hamas’s October 7th attack, and the many innocent people killed in the war that followed. It is long past time for the fighting to end and the work of building peace and security to begin. I am also if thinking of the American families, three of whom have living hostages in Gaza and four awaiting return of remains after what has been the most horrible ordeal imaginable. Under this deal, we are determined to bring all of them home.
I will speak more about this soon. For now, I am thrilled that those who have been held hostage are being reunited with their families.
Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said Biden deserves praise for continuing to push the talks despite repeated failures. But Trump’s threats to Hamas and his efforts through Witkoff to “cajole” Netanyahu deserve credit as well, he said.
“The ironic reality is that at a time of heightened partisanship even over foreign policy, the deal represents how much more powerful and influential U.S. foreign policy can be when it’s bipartisan,” he said. “Both the outgoing and incoming administration deserve credit for for this deal and it would’ve been far less likely to happen without both pushing for it.”
The Biden administration’s open embrace of incoming Trump team involvement in the talks was rooted in far more than the president-elect’s influence with Netanyahu and his threats that there would be “hell to pay” if a deal wasn’t done by Inauguration Day, which is in five days, three current U.S. officials said.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to offer candid details, said their interest in having Witkoff participate in the talks alongside Biden’s Mideast pointman, Brett McGurk, was primarily designed to ensure that an agreement — which will require a lengthy American commitment — would have continued U.S. support after Biden leaves office.
Yet, since Witkoff entered the latest round of talks in Doha, Qatar, alongside McGurk, these U.S. officials have downplayed Trump’s relevance to the process apart from the importance of ensuring his support for a deal painstakingly negotiated over the past year. They also want backing for a plan pushed by the Biden administration for the governance, reconstruction and security of Gaza that will take many months — and significant U.S. backing — to succeed.
The officials said it was important for all parties to the deal to know that the agreement had buy-in from the new president. That was important not only because Biden will leave office in just five days, but also because the U.S. is a guarantor of the agreement that will play out in several phases.