US President Donald Trump's day-long trip to the Middle East came as the Gaza deal was clinched: an agreement coming into force amounting to one of the most critical moments yet after two years of catastrophic war.
Painting as he does in primary colours, Trump's portrayal was vivid - of the biggest turning point in three millennia. On the return flight in the early hours of Tuesday, he reflected that it had been a "historic day, to put it mildly". He had earlier suggested "everlasting peace" had been grasped under his tutelage, in a region long convulsed by violence.
As part of the White House press corps, we were travelling on Air Force One – which is how I found myself at the centre of this US diplomatic tornado.
As we headed for Tel Aviv, the presidential plane took a turn to do a fly-by of the beach. It dipped a wing so we could get a view of a giant sign atop the sand that said "thank you" to Trump, and featured the Israeli flag as well as an outline of the US president's head in profile.
The manoeuvre set the mood for a trip that was a victory lap, rather than an exercise in setting out the punishing detail for starting "phase two" of the negotiations and securing a longer-term future for Gaza.
