Does Netanyahu’s phone diplomacy reveal whether or not Biden or Trump did extra to safe hostage deal?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Donald Trump for his help in securing a ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to his office, before then offering his thanks to President Joe Biden.

As Biden and Trump vie to take credit for the prisoner swap, perhaps the Israeli leader offered a clue to who he thinks sealed the deal.

Hours after details of a ceasefire were made public, Netanyahu took to the phones.

And he spoke with the president-elect first, relegating the sitting president to second place.

‘Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Wednesday, 15 January 2025), spoke with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families,’ said his office.

‘The prime minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can, and commended the US President-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism.’

They also agreed to meet in Washington soon.

It was only after that conversation, that Netanyahu spoke to Biden, who has spent two years supplying his government with weapons and trying to secure a deal. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked to President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday evening, followed by President Joe Biden, to thank them for their efforts

‘Prime Minister Netanyahu then spoke with US President Joe Biden and thanked him as well for his assistance in advancing the hostages deal,’ is how the statement put it.

Incoming and outgoing presidents have both tried to take credit for the breakthrough.

A major Middle East peace deal would burnish the legacy of Biden’s troubled presidency after he spent months brokering talks that stalled repeatedly.

But the breakthrough comes just six days before he leaves office and Trump takes over. 

‘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 his social media platform, using his usual idiosyncratic mix of capital letters as news broke earlier Wednesday.

He has repeatedly urged Netanyahu to finish up the war in Gaza before he takes office, and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been in Qatar for the past week to help with negotiations.

Middle East envoys reportedly said Witkoff had done more to persuade Netanyahu to accept compromises than Biden had managed in the past year.

Yet the idea that Trump had a decisive impact was met with disbelief at the White House.

Donald Trump also claimed credit for the deal

Palestinians gathered in the garden of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza to celebrate after the announcement of a ceasefire

Biden said the deal had been negotiated by his administration but would be implemented by the incoming administration. 

‘In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team,’ he said in a televised speech. 

At the end he was asked by a journalist whether he or Trump deserved the credit. ‘Is that a joke?’ he said smiling before walking away.

Israel launched its way on Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas militants stormed out of Gaza and killed about 1,200. They returned to the enclave with about 250 hostages.

The conflict has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza since then, according to the local health authority. 

About 100 hostages are still being held, and about a third of those are believed to be dead.  

Phase one of the deal is expected to start Sunday, according to Qatari officials who mediated talks. It brings a six-week truce, during which 33 hostages will be released while negotiations begin to end the war.

However, Netanyahu has not actually yet said he will accept the deal.

Instead he said he would offer his formal response once’ final details’ have been completed.