Biden officials involved in the effort acknowledged that President-elect Donald Trump’s threats and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff’s participation during the final week of negotiations played a major role in bringing across the finish line a deal they had struggled to reach for more than a year.

Two far-right Israeli ministers publicly opposed a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas on Sunday in another sign of widening cracks in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. Hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other ministers from his nationalist-religious party resigned from Netanyahu's cabinet over the deal,