ALBAWABA - Axios reports that U.S. President Donald Trump played a key role in getting the most recent ceasefire agreement in Gaza. He personally promised Hamas that Israel would not break the deal or start military operations again.
According to American officials, Trump's direct promises were very important in getting Hamas to agree to the terms of the deal, which went into effect early Friday after the Israeli government approved it.
As part of the deal, Washington wants to set up a U.S.-led military task force to keep an eye on the ceasefire and respond to any violations that may happen. Officials said that this mechanism is meant to help the parties trust each other again after they broke the ceasefire before.
One high-ranking U.S. official said that Hamas's choice was also affected by how it saw the hostages changing, saying that the group "began to see them more as a burden than as a way to negotiate for its political future."
Kushner's "No Room for Failure"
Before sending Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Cairo on Tuesday, Trump is said to have asked them how likely they were to succeed. Kushner said with confidence, "100 percent," and added, "We don't have the luxury of failure."
When they got to Egypt, Kushner and Witkoff met with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey. They told them that Trump personally supported the whole plan and would make sure it was carried out.
Trump's direct involvement
Officials said that Trump was personally involved the whole time. He had at least three phone calls with regional leaders to show his commitment and stress that the ceasefire was "a top priority" for him.
One official said, "The president wanted everyone to know that he plans to stop the violence and make sure everyone behaves."
What we've done so far and what's next
Axios says that talks sped up in the middle of the week as both sides started to be more open to change. Kushner and Witkoff agreed that the deal was ready to be announced by Thursday night. Trump quickly announced the ceasefire on his Truth Social platform.
This agreement comes after other failed truces, one of which Israel is said to have broken in March. Kushner and Witkoff are supposed to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and high-ranking military officials as part of the new deal. They will talk about sending an international stabilization force to Gaza to make sure peace lasts.
