A person wearing a Trump mask and holding American and Israeli flags in the hostage square in Tel Aviv. (AFP)

Donald Trump could not have dreamed of a better scene than what happened. His Secretary of State Marco Rubio handed him a written note during an extensive press meeting, then Trump stood up and whispered in his ear what he would announce himself at that very moment: that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of the American peace plan.

In the few hours following his initial announcement, the world waited for one person to deliver the final word. When Trump posted his official announcement on his private platform “Truth Social” around 7 PM Eastern US time, his post became the sole news: the toughest and longest Israeli war on Palestinians in their history had ended, after one day and two years since it began.

Trump thanked the mediating countries, “Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with the United States to achieve this unprecedented historic event.” He concluded with “Blessed are the makers of peace.” He did not praise himself as usual, but left hundreds of thousands of his supporters to praise him as “the greatest president America has ever had,” “the people nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize,” and other glorifying phrases. The official White House account quickly joined in, posting a picture of Trump with a title that seems to leave a good impression on him: “President of Peace.”

While pro-Trump American media exaggerated his image as a strong president, the opposing media seemed to acknowledge his credit. The New York Times headlined one of its analytical articles “With the Middle East Deal, Trump is on the verge of a great diplomatic achievement.” The paper saw this initial agreement as possibly a short truce in the ongoing war since 1948, contrary to what Trump portrayed as peace. But if Trump manages to push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw his forces from Gaza City and abandon his plan to control the destroyed remnants of the sector, he will have done what many before him tried: subdue a difficult ally now living in isolation.

The article pointed to the pressure Trump exerted on his ally to accept the agreement. Trump had repeatedly hinted before that he was applying such pressure, either by persuasion, saying “You will be the winner, Bibi,” or by threatening the growing global isolation of Israel, which led allies like France and Britain to recognize the State of Palestine.

Trump has never hesitated to claim credit for solving problems and making deals. The agreement he announced on Wednesday will not be outside this personal equation, and it came after a series of direct threats of hellish consequences and a set number of hours for each deadline. The American president desperately needs any breakthrough on the global level after bitter months his envoys spent traveling around the world seeking a similar agreement, during which, ironically, a short war broke out between Israel and Iran, dragging the peace maker into it by striking Iran.

Trump is now expected to cling to this opportunity with all his might as the strongest proof of his lasting legacy as an American president. And if his pursuit of the title “President of Peace” completes the overwhelming joy that spread in Gaza and the world, that is a good thing.