President-elect Donald Trump took credit for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal Sunday, saying it never would’ve happened i9f he had not won the election.

“This week we achieved an epic ceasefire agreement as a first step toward lasting peace in the Middle East,” Mr. Trump said during his Victory Rally on Sunday at the Capital One Arena in Washington. “This agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November.”

He slammed President Biden for saying the deal was made by him, and said if he was president the 15-month long war never would’ve happened because Iran would not have been able to subsidize the Hamas terrorists who committed the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel that precipitated the war.

“There was not even a thought of it,” he said. “Iran was broke, they had no money for Hezbollah, they had no money for Hamas, they had no money. They were broke, totally broke and they would’ve never done anything.”

“I like to think back to the past, I said, ‘If only the [2020] election weren’t rigged, all the things that would’ve happened, that would’ve been so good,’” he said.

Mr. Biden announced the ceasefire deal Wednesday, saying it mirrored the deal he put forth back in May but which had languished since. He also said he worked as one with the incoming Trump administration to get the deal done.

Mr. Trump thanked Steve Witkoff, his special envoy to the Middle East, for help with solidifying the deal.

“Our incoming administration has achieved all of this in the Middle East in less than three months without being president,” he said. “We’ve achieved more without being president than they’ve achieved in four years with being president.”

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.