In a dramatic turn of events that has reverberated from Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to the halls of the White House, President Donald Trump has been credited with brokering a ceasefire in Gaza—ending a devastating two-year war that began with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The deal, finalized on October 10, 2025, is being hailed by supporters and even some critics as Trump’s most significant diplomatic achievement, eclipsing the efforts of his predecessor and reshaping the political landscape in Israel and beyond.
The conflict’s origins are seared into the collective memory of Israelis and Palestinians alike. On that fateful October day in 2023, Hamas militants killed 1,200 people inside Israel and kidnapped 250 more, igniting a war that would claim over 70,000 Palestinian lives—of whom only 8,900 were identified as Hamas fighters, according to data assembled by the Israel Defense Forces through May 2025 (as reported by TIME). The hostages’ plight became a rallying cry, with families and supporters filling Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, their banners now reading “We love Trump” in gratitude for his role in securing their loved ones’ release.
For months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced mounting criticism from hostage families and political opponents, who accused him of prolonging the war for his own political survival. Opposition leader Yair Lapid charged in December, “Netanyahu isn’t willing to pay the political price of bringing back all the hostages.” Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners pushed for an expanded assault on Gaza, dreaming of full re-occupation, while the prime minister resisted any deal that might threaten his government’s stability.
The diplomatic logjam broke with Trump’s return to the White House in early 2025. Despite being described by Netanyahu as “the best friend Israel has ever had in the Oval Office,” Trump did not hesitate to exert pressure when he deemed it necessary. In January, he pushed Netanyahu to accept a deal that returned 30 living and eight deceased hostages. The approach was forceful and direct—a style that would become his hallmark in this latest round of negotiations.
Trump’s leverage over Netanyahu became even more apparent in September, after an Israeli airstrike targeted Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar—a key mediator and U.S. ally. The strike failed in its objective and infuriated the Qataris, as well as the White House. According to CBC News, Trump was “very unhappy,” forcing Netanyahu to apologize to Qatar’s emir by phone, a moment broadcast for the world to see. This public display of contrition, orchestrated by Trump, was described by Hamas officials as a turning point. “Without the personal interference of President Trump in this case, I don’t think that it would have happened, to have reached the end of the war,” Dr. Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told Sky News. “Therefore, yes, we thank President Trump and his personal efforts to interfere and to pressure Netanyahu to bring an end to this massacre and slaughtering.”
With the diplomatic table reset, Trump unveiled a sweeping 20-point peace plan during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington. The plan, which departs dramatically from the Oslo Accords framework that dominated Middle East peace efforts for decades, includes the return of all Israeli hostages, withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” according to Michael Desch, professor at the University of Notre Dame (as cited by CBC News). The first phase of the agreement—signed by both Hamas and Israel—stipulates the exchange of Israeli hostages for jailed Palestinians and a pullback of Israeli perimeter forces. Yet, the plan leaves many questions unanswered, particularly regarding Gaza’s future governance and the disarmament of Hamas.
Netanyahu has tried to frame the ceasefire as a strategic victory, emphasizing that the Israel Defense Forces will maintain a presence over roughly half of Gaza. “Anyone who says that this hostage deal was always on the table is simply not telling the truth,” he said in a televised statement, while pitching the deal as “one of our great achievements.” Still, the agreement falls short of the “total victory” he promised his supporters, and the ambiguity around Hamas’s disarmament and the possibility of renewed fighting keeps his far-right coalition partners temporarily appeased.
Analysts and insiders suggest that Netanyahu, despite his public bravado, was cornered into the deal. According to two Israeli officials quoted by CNN, Netanyahu was one of the authors of Trump’s proposal, but in the final stretch, Trump imposed terms Netanyahu had to accept—including the potential for a Palestinian state. “Once Iran was hit, Gaza had to end,” one official recounted, referring to the June 2025 Israel-Iran conflict during which Trump ordered Israel to call off an imminent airstrike, a directive issued publicly on Truth Social.
The ceasefire’s implementation has not only shifted the military and political calculus in the region but also upended the Israeli political scene. Netanyahu, once facing widespread calls for resignation and a corruption trial, now finds himself presented with a chance for political redemption. “Bibi told me, I can’t believe it. Everybody’s liking me now,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, recounting a phone call with the Israeli leader. “More importantly, they’re loving Israel again.”
This new narrative is already being woven into Netanyahu’s campaign for the upcoming Israeli elections, which could be called before their scheduled date in October 2026. Trump is expected to visit Israel for the celebrations, with Netanyahu eager to capitalize on the U.S. president’s popularity, which polls suggest is even greater than his own. The prime minister has even invited Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to participate in cabinet meetings, underscoring the centrality of U.S. backing to his political fortunes.
Internationally, the ceasefire has drawn bipartisan praise. Senator Richard Blumenthal called the agreement “monumental” on CNN, while former Trump national security adviser John Bolton remarked, “I do think that Donald Trump deserves credit for making this deal happen.” Even late-night television, often a bastion of Trump criticism, offered a rare nod of approval. On The Daily Show, Josh Johnson quipped, “This is astonishing, because if this peace holds, it means the guy who couldn’t stop a fight between Gary Busey and Meat Loaf brokered peace in the Middle East.”
Yet, skepticism remains. As veteran Israeli journalist Nahum Barnea wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth, the agreement “has more holes than Swiss cheese” and “more willingness to agree than instructions for implementation.” The deal’s ambiguity—particularly regarding Hamas’s disarmament and Israel’s right to resume military action—may be what keeps Netanyahu’s fragile coalition together, at least for now.
For the families of the hostages and the war-weary populations of both Israel and Gaza, the ceasefire represents a desperately needed respite. Whether it will hold—and whether Trump’s 20-point plan can deliver lasting peace—remains to be seen. But for now, the guns have fallen silent, and the political fortunes of two embattled leaders have been dramatically reshaped.
