TEL AVIV — The framework for a ceasefire that could end the war between Israel and Hamas has been on the table for eight months, prompting anger from some over delays and now calls for help from President-elect Donald Trump Show appreciation for getting it over the line.

US President Joe Biden confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that the agreement was based on the "precise outlines" of a ceasefire plan for May 2024 that was "unanimously endorsed" by the United Nations Security Council. He also praised the work of key negotiators, including Egypt and Qatar, and the "extreme pressure" on Hamas that helped secure the truce.

While U.S. officials credited the deal with the collaboration between Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkopf and Biden's Middle East representative Brett McGurk, the president-elect on Thursday sought to move much of the Credit goes to yourself.

Biden "didn't do anything," he said in an interview on "The Dan Bongino Show." "If I hadn't done this, if we hadn't been involved, the hostages would never have come out."

The deal could soon end more than 15 months of war in Gaza that began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched attacks on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages, according to Israeli statistics. This marks a significant escalation in the decades-long conflict. Since then, Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed more than 46,500 people, according to health officials in the enclave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump directly for his role in the negotiations during a phone call on Wednesday, Netanyahu's office said in a statement. He later thanked Biden in a separate phone call, the statement added.

For Netanyahu spokesman David Menser, Hamas has changed its position since the deal was first proposed in May. Its leader, Yahya Sinwar, was confirmed to have been killed by Israeli forces in October, and he said in a voice note on Friday that his death also played a role.

"What has changed is that Hamas has seriously degraded," he said, adding that much of its leadership had been "eliminated" and "their weapons stockpile had been wiped out."

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also said in an interview with NBC's "TODAY" on Thursday, "What really got us to this point is the isolation and weakening of Hamas." He added that previously, Hamas Sri Lanka has "time and again" put up obstacles to an agreement and is "unwilling to negotiate in good faith."

Trump's support for the deal "certainly helps," but "we need to stop worrying about the whole credit business and who gets credit for what," he said.

Asher Kaufman, a professor of history and peace studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, also noted that the progress in the negotiations was taking place against the backdrop of an evolving situation in the Middle East, although he did attribute the success to Trump.

"You have to remember that with the decline of Hezbollah, the decline of Iran and the fall of Assad, the world, the region, has changed," he said in a phone interview Thursday. "The dynamics are changing ... which promotes the possibility of such an arrangement."

Still, he said he believed Trump was ultimately "a game changer in a sense because of the relationship between him and Netanyahu."

Within Israel, many attribute the breakthrough to the “Trump effect.”

Among them is Efrat Machikawa, whose 80-year-old uncle Gadi Moses remains imprisoned. “I’m very grateful for the long-term efforts of the Biden administration, but I have to say the Trump effect is huge,” Machikawa, 56, said Friday.

Machikawa, 59, added that she had not received any news about her uncle for months but that he was among the 33 hostages expected to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. Not knowing her fate was "terrifying," she said.

Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was held hostage and killed in Gaza, also cited Trump as the "X factor" in brokering the deal. Dickman said in an interview Wednesday that the only thing that has changed since May is "that Carmel is now dead, Trump is now president, and now we have a deal."

According to Palestinian statistics, the death toll in Gaza has increased by more than 11,500 since May, although researchers have warned that the death toll may be much higher than the official figure and fear that thousands more people are buried under the rubble.

Even Gershon Baskin, an Israeli mediator with Hamas for decades, attributed the success to Trump, although he said the truce came to fruition eight months after it was first proposed , which is "disgusting".

Baskin, a frequent critic of Netanyahu's government, noted that thousands of Palestinians and several hostages have been killed in Gaza during that period and said it was "outrageous" that it had taken so long.

"Eventually it was really accepted because Trump showed up and Trump told Netanyahu to do this," added the veteran negotiator, who helped free the captives more than a decade ago. Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Just when the deal seemed poised to be ratified, the deal appeared to hit a snag when Netanyahu's office claimed that Hamas had breached part of the deal - a charge the group strongly denies.

However, early on Friday, Netanyahu's office said he would seek approval from the security cabinet as well as the full cabinet. Israel's Supreme Court will have 24 hours to allow the appeal.

If all goes as planned, the agreement could take effect as early as this Sunday, the day before Trump's inauguration.

But Baskin said he was concerned that implementation of the three-phase ceasefire agreement in the coming months would be a "difficult process."

"The key is that it must be implemented now," he said.