How Months of Geopolitical Upheaval Paved Way for Gaza Cease-Fire

Benjamin Netanyahu's wins, and Hamas's losses, pushed the two foes toward a deal

- Rory Jones, Summer Said & Carrie Keller-Lynn

The broad terms of the cease-fire deal that Israel and Hamas finally agreed to Wednesday after a year of fruitless negotiations aren't substantially different from those that were available to both sides eight months ago. What changed is everything else.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent the first half of last year fighting with political rivals and trying to keep his governing coalition together. He was stuck in a war of attrition with Hamas in Gaza and facing ominous threats from Iran and its allied militia in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

Then the tables turned. Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza and battered Hezbollah with a series of operations that pushed the group to accede to a cease-fire in Lebanon. A strike on Iran destroyed most of the country's air defenses. The Assad regime collapsed in Syria, punching a bigger hole in Iran's network of militias. As prominent Palestinians began calling for an alternative government for the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu shored up his political base at home.

Meanwhile, both sides have been galvanized by President-elect Donald Trump's imminent return to office. The incoming president said a week ago that "all hell will break out in the Middle East" if the hostages held in Gaza aren't released by the time he is inaugurated on Jan. 20. He hasn't explained what he meant, but last week said it wouldn't be good for Hamas or "frankly, for anyone."

The result is a deal agreed to by Israel and Hamas that will pause their fighting in the Gaza Strip and open a pathway to end a 15-month war that has devastated the enclave and sparked wider conflict in the region.