A Senior Hamas official told Al Arabiya that the ceasefire and hostage deal wouldn't have happened without the incoming Trump administration.
“The Gaza ceasefire agreement would not have happened without Donald Trump," former Hamas Health Minister Basem Naim told Al Arabiya. "The agreement would not have been reached without pressure from the Trump administration. The Trump administration exerted the appropriate pressure on Netanyahu."
President-elect Trump has previously said that the ceasefire deal wouldn't have happened without his insistence that the deliberations be complete by his inauguration date.
PRESIDENT TRUMP LIVE ON THE DAN BONGINO SHOW“ THERE WOULD BE NO HOSTAGE DEAL WITHOUT US.. And it BETTER BE DONE BY THE TIME I TAKE THE OATH” pic.twitter.com/NUvf0Jw3bU
— Johnny St.Pete (@JohnMcCloy) January 16, 2025
"If we weren't involved in this deal, the deal would've never happened," Trump said on the Dan Bongino Show on Thursday. "We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office." Trump went on to say that pressure from members of his team, such as incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, was the reason why the agreement was reached.
Biden and Trump take credit
Trump went on to criticize an "ungracious" President Joe Biden.
"He didn't do anything! If I didn't do this, if we didn't get involved, the hostages would never be out," Trump said.
Biden took credit for the ceasefire deal on Wednesday in his final address to America.
"This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will largely be implemented by the incoming administration," Biden said in his farewell address to America. "That's why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, as that's how it should be. Working together as Americans."
Biden told MSNBC on Thursday that he had not had any recent talks with Trump regarding the ceasefire deal.
However, in a press briefing on Wednesday, he told reporters that his administration and Trump's incoming one were "speaking as one team."