Trump and Biden vie for credit in Gaza truce deal

US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have both claimed credit for ceasefire that will pause Israel's 467-day-long genocide in Gaza after the White House brought Trump's Middle East envoy into negotiations that have dragged on since May, 2024.

Trump wasted no time in asserting he was the moving force behind the deal, whose final details were still being ironed out, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

"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."

Minutes later, Biden stressed in a statement that the deal that will halt Israel's genocide in Gaza was reached under "the precise contours" of a plan that he set out some eight months ago.

"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 claimed.

"My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done."

What experts are saying

Nancy Okail, head of the US-based Center for International Policy, said acceptance of the deal in the face of Trump's insistence that a ceasefire be in place when he takes office next week "ironically shows how effective actual pressure can be in changing Israeli government behavior."

Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said Biden continuing to push the talks despite repeated failures should be noted.

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 US 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."

Stain on Biden's legacy

Over the course of the war, Biden armed Israel to the teeth despite enormous Palestinian death toll in the genocide — now standing at more than 46,000 dead — and Israel's blockade of the tiny territory that has created a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza by leaving access to food and basic health care severely limited.

Studies and experts say the reported death toll is only a conservative estimate and the accurate toll could be around or beyond 200,000.

Pro-Palestine activists have demanded an arms embargo against Israel, but US policy has largely remained unchanged. The State Department in recent days informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel.

Biden refusal to impose arms embargo came with enormous suffering for innocent Palestinians and Lebanese that have been caught in the crossfire of the 15 months of grinding genocide.

The outgoing one-term Democrat's critics say Biden's approach could come with long-term ramifications for US standing in the Middle East and may well prove to be stain on Biden's legacy.