President Donald Trump took credit for the Saturday release of Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas - a deal reached before he took the Oval Office.
“Today the world celebrates as President Trump secured the release of four more Israeli hostages who were, for far too long, held against their will by Hamas in horrific conditions,” the White House said in a statement. “The United States will continue with its great partner Israel to push for the release of all remaining hostages and the pursuit of peace throughout the region.”
The statement was issued following the release of Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, who were freed in return for 70 Palestinian prisoners.
The deal went into effect less than a week ago. The Israeli Defense Forces said the women would undergo medical assessments and be reunited with their families,The Hill noted.
The deal came together after negotiations lasting months, putting a pause on almost 15 months of warfare following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The initial phase of the deal, which was negotiated by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt, outlines a ceasefire lasting six weeks and Hamas releasing 33 hostages.
Following the announcement of the deal, both then-President Biden and then-President-elect Trump took credit. Biden disregarded comments that Trump was behind the agreement but noted that the transition team did assist in the negotiations.
Biden argued earlier this month that the deal was made under “the precise contours” of a plan that he detailed in late May.
“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 previously this month. “I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
At the time, Trump said that his envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, would continue to “work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”
Witkoff reportedly worked hand in hand with the Biden administration to get the agreement over the line.
“My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done,” Biden said a few days before leaving the White House.
“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,” he added.
The director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, Jonathan Panikoff, said earlier this month that both Trump and Biden deserve credit. Biden continued to push for the talks to continue through a number of failures, but Trump’s threats against Hamas and Witkoff’s efforts to “cajole” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also deserve credit, said Panikoff.
“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 a few days before Trump was inaugurated. “Both the outgoing and incoming administration deserve credit for this deal and it would’ve been far less likely to happen without both pushing for it.”
“We have been speaking as one team,” said Biden from the White House.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
