The world joined in celebration on Monday when the 20 still-living Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, were released by Hamas after just over two years in harrowing captivity.

The freedom of the Israelis was secured in large part due to the efforts of President Donald Trump in negotiating a ceasefire deal between the Jewish state and Hamas, a result emblematic of the staggering success the current administration has had in this realm in roughly nine months as compared to the sluggish pace of hostage releases seen during Joe Biden’s four-year tenure in office, as Fox News reports.

Hostages prioritized under Trump

Since re-entering the Oval Office in January, Trump has achieved the release of American hostages from foreign governments at a clip that has dwarfed that which was observed during the Biden era.

Over the intervening months, the president and his team have secured the freedom of Americans who had been detained in locations such as Russia, Afghanistan, Belarus, Venezuela, Kuwait, Cameroon, and Tunisia.

From January through late summer, the administration oversaw the return of 72 U.S. citizens, as revealed by the Office of Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department.

Then, in September, American citizen Amir Amiry was freed from wrongful detention in Afghanistan, adding to the tally of Trump triumphs in this realm, even before the addition

Biden, for his part, indicated in 2024 that his administration was responsible for the release of approximately 70 hostages during his four years in office, which, while admirable, represents far less than the total already aided by his successor.

Free at last

Though none of the 20 Israeli hostages released into the custody of the Red Cross on Monday are American citizens, their freedom was achieved largely due to the work of the Trump administration, a fact to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attested and one which was lauded in the streets all across the Jewish state.

Trump took a much-deserved victory lap, arriving in Tel Aviv to address the Knesset to mark the occasion of the hostages’ release by Hamas.

The president declared the “long and painful nightmare” experienced by both Israelis and Palestinians over the past two years finally over, taking a well-earned bow for his evident skill in bringing about freedom for those wrongly taken and held captive.

Trump was more than willing to share credit for the historic result with key members of his team, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The scale of Trump’s achievement could not be ignored, even by those who are typically among his harshest critics, and a groundswell continues to build in support of his candidacy for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

Sour grapes?

In the aftermath of the long-awaited Trump-directed hostage release, Biden issued a statement commending the president and his team, but also asserting that it was actually his own administration that “worked relentlessly to bring hostages home, get relief to Palestinian civilians, and end the war.”

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken upped the ante on attempted credit-grabbing even further, stating, “It’s good that President Trump adopted and built on the plan the Biden administration developed,” a suggestion that the current president bluntly -- and rightly -- deemed “a joke.”