With thousands of lives in the balance, Donald Trump either refused to take no for an answer or completely misread a pivotal moment in tense peace talks between Hamas and Israel.
Things were looking bleak after Israel tried to take out the Hamas leadership with an air strike at a negotiation in Qatar.
But the US President made a show of trying to soothe angry Qatari officials, by forcing Benjamin Netanyahu into a grovelling apology for violating Qatari airspace.
He rang up Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and spoke to him before pressing the phone into the Israeli prime minister’s hand.
Netanyahu begrudgingly read from a written apology, expressing his regret for Israel violating Qatari sovereignty with the missile strike that killed Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya’s son.
The White House later published photos of a grim-faced Trump with the phone awkwardly perched in his lap. But that meeting was a turning point in negotiations with a contrite Netanyahu seemingly admitting a mistake.
A week later, Trump unveiled his 20-point plan which essentially demanded Hamas’ surrender. Trump said the militant group had days to think it over and issued a stark warning.
‘If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,’ Trump wrote. ‘THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.’
It was a bold move and Hamas responded with a distinct ‘ok, but’.
The terror group reiterated its willingness to release all hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and agreed to give up power only to other Palestinians.
But they insisted other elements of Trump’s plan required more discussion and refused to agree to disarm, a key demand for Netanyahu.
Trump could have blamed Hamas for the failure to reach a ceasefire on Israel’s terms, and gone through with his threat of ‘all hell breaking loose’.
Israel might have pulled out of the talks and pressed ahead with the destruction of the Gaza Strip until it was completely wiped off the map.
But when the Hamas response landed, Israel was largely shut down for the Sabbath, and Trump seized his opportunity.
‘Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!’ he wrote on his Truth Social site.
Did Trump completely misread Hamas’ mixed response?
The White House refused to comment on the decision, but with peace in the balance no-one was in any mood to correct him.
Not Hamas, who had swerved the ultimatum, nor Netanyahu, who would have been seen as ripping up the president’s deal.
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That night, Netanyahu said Israel was preparing for the implementation of the ‘first stage’ of Trump’s plan — the release of hostages — and was still committed to ending the war according to its own principles.
It made no mention of the fact that Hamas had not accepted some key demands.
Trump simply read Hamas’ very conditional response to his final proposal as a distinct yes.
Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced on Thursday night, the biggest step yet to end two years of war in which over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and return the last hostages seized by Hamas in the deadly attacks that started it.
An Israeli government spokesperson said the ceasefire would go into force within 24 hours of government approval of the deal.
After that 24-hour period, the hostages held in Gaza would be freed within 72 hours.
In an interview with Fox News host and ally Sean Hannity after announcing the agreement, the president said he hoped it would help repair Israel’s international standing.
‘I spoke to Bibi Netanyahu just a little while ago,’ Trump told Hannity, using the Israeli prime minister’s nickname.
‘I said, ‘Israel cannot fight the world, Bibi.’ They can’t fight the world. And he understands that very well.’