Name: Bidens legacy marked by Gaza devastation and tentative truce
Uploaded: 2025-01-17T03:07:37.321Z
Duration: 2 min 43 s
Description: U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office with a long-fought ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in hand. But he also leaves his successor a Middle East destabilized by conflicts that erupted over his administration.

U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office with a long-fought ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in hand. But he also leaves his successor a Middle East destabilized by conflicts that erupted over his administration.

The U.S-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza is holding, after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages.

Middle East Conflict

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U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has been marked by significant challenges in the Middle East, most notably the conflict between Israel and Hamas. After eight months of negotiations, Biden's administration succeeded in securing a ceasefire and hostage deal between the two parties. This achievement, however, is viewed by some analysts as overshadowed by the escalation of conflicts during Biden's tenure, which have had a destabilizing effect on the region.

Following a planned meeting between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, violence erupted after an attack by Hamas on Israeli communities. This led to a retaliatory response by Israel against Gaza which then involved Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran. Despite Biden's efforts, critics argue the conflict unfolded beyond his ability to contain it, focusing instead on the catastrophic outcomes of the 15-month-long Gaza war.

Biden's actions have been met with both criticism and defense. Republicans, including incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, attribute the chaos in the Middle East to perceived weaknesses in Biden's foreign policy. They claim that such unrest would have been avoided under different leadership. Biden's supporters, however, maintain he has confronted inherited challenges adequately, focusing on weakening regional adversaries and minimizing civilian harm.

Looking ahead, it falls on the Trump administration to continue the work initiated by Biden in maintaining the ceasefire's integrity and moving towards a post-conflict strategy. As the international community watches, the onus will be on ensuring compliance with the ceasefire terms and paving the way for long-term stability in the region.



Biden's legacy marked by Gaza devastation and tentative truce

In the middle of September 2023, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan outlined an optimistic agenda for an upcoming meeting between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Focused on the shared democratic values between the United States and Israel and a vision for a more stable and prosperous and integrated region. Just a few weeks later, on October 7th, that vision of stability and prosperity went up in smoke. Hamas' deadly rampage through Israeli communities was followed by Israel's devastating retaliation in Gaza, a conflict that then spread, drawing in Lebanon, Yemen and Iran. After eight months of non-stop negotiation by my administration, a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas. Biden played a major role in securing a Gaza ceasefire deal for Hamas' release of hostages. But analysts say his Middle East record is likely to be remembered not so much for how conflicts ended on his watch, but for how they unfolded. Seemingly beyond his ability to contain them, Biden's record on the world stage is likely to be heavily defined by his handling of the 15-month war in Gaza. Part of what incoming U.S. President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans have seized on as a, quote, world on fire during the Democratic president's tenure. They accuse Biden of weak resolve that encouraged foes to foment chaos throughout the region. The October 7th attack on Israel would never have happened if I was president. Zero chance it was not going to happen. Biden's allies contend that he has had to confront a set of Middle East challenges not of his making and has handled them skillfully, weakening Iran and its regional proxies while working to limit civilian casualties in Gaza and Lebanon. My administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play. But Biden's steadfast support for Israel, in a response that decimated Hamas but also killed tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza, took a heavy toll on U.S. international credibility. It also means there's plenty of unfinished business being handed over to Donald Trump and his administration. Marisa Kurma is the Middle East program director at the Wilson Center. The international community, the United States in particular, as this transition also takes place internally in the United States between the Biden and the Trump administration, has to ensure that both sides are going to adhere to the agreement in order to move forward to the next phase and see how we can start thinking about some sort of post-war plan. It will fall to the Trump administration to ensure that later phases of the ceasefire deal are carried out.

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