Progressive foreign policy experts credit Trump in striking Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal

Center for International Policy executive vice president Matt Duss told the outlet that Trump "made clear he wanted this war to end and pressed Netanyahu on it in a way that Biden clearly wasn't willing to do."

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire deal this week that also ensures the release of hostages this week.

IDF Reserve Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi told Fox News that the incoming president was one of the major reasons this deal was agreed upon, even though it had been on the table since May.

White House national aecurity communications adviser John Kirby recognized Trump's incoming Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff as a key figure in brokering the deal.

Duss - who was once a foreign policy aide for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.- told Politico how Trump's involvement affected the deal. 

"Trump has made clear what he wants, he has his own priorities, and I think it was clearly the unconditional support that Biden gave that provided cover for Netanyahu to continue to prosecute this war, and also that there would be no costs for ignoring either private or public criticisms from the United States," he said.

Since Trump's team joined, "That calculus has changed," Duss noted. 

Though he didn't point to Trump's influence directly, Dearborn, Michigan's Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun recognized that Biden couldn't get the deal done in May, calling the failure "disappointing."

"Thousands of innocent civilians could have been spared if we had implemented this cease-fire back in May," he said. Still, he expressed relief that it was struck at all, saying on Thursday, "Today's announcement is welcome news to all of us that this cycle of violence will end."

Fox News Digital's Joshua Comins contributed to this piece.