For President-elect Donald J. Trump, the Israeli-Gaza cease-fire deal was key for two reasons.
It removed one of the most vexing international conflicts that hovered over the start of his second term, and it gave Mr. Trump, who was known during his real-estate developer days in New York City as a “deals guy,” something to claim credit for as an early win — even if it happened before he took office.
In a posting on social media on Wednesday, Mr. Trump declared that the deal “only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November.”
The contours of the deal were not especially different than what President Biden had sought in May. But multiple people with insight into the process said that Mr. Trump’s win in November, along with the involvement of members of his incoming administration, were key parts in moving things forward.
The aftermath of the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas had been a backdrop to the U.S. presidential race in 2024. As Mr. Trump emerged not just as the Republican nominee but the survivor of an assassination attempt in July, his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel improved. (The ties had frayed after Mr. Netanyahu congratulated Mr. Biden on winning the 2020 election.)
Fear of what the often unpredictable Mr. Trump — who months ago said the world knows that he’s “crazy,” using an expletive for emphasis — might do on the world stage has become a key theme in private discussions among foreign leaders.
So the deal — forged with significant involvement by Mr. Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff — allowed Mr. Trump to begin his term with one less problem.
