WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced that he plans to travel to the Middle East on Sunday to mark the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza peace deal and to be present for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Trump declared that the agreement between Israel and Hamas had “ended the war in Gaza,” adding that under his 20-point peace plan — which served as the foundation for negotiations mediated by Egypt — “nobody’s going to be forced to leave” the Palestinian territory.
Trump said he hoped to visit Israel, where he might address parliament, and possibly Egypt as well. “The hostages will be coming back Monday or Tuesday. I’ll probably be there, I hope to be there,” he told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to the hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attacks. He acknowledged, however, that the bodies of some of the dead hostages would be “hard to find.”
According to Israeli authorities, Hamas abducted 251 people during the attacks, with 47 still in captivity — 25 of whom the Israeli military believes to be dead. Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has devastated much of the enclave, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Egypt invites Trump to peace celebration
Earlier, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi confirmed that he had invited Trump to attend a “celebration to be held in Egypt” marking the ceasefire’s first phase. However, few details have been released regarding the deal’s second phase or Gaza’s political future.
During a cabinet meeting, Trump said that “there will be disarming, there will be pullbacks,” hinting at Israel’s demand for Hamas to lay down arms and Hamas’s call for Israeli troop withdrawals. He added that Gaza would be “slowly redone” with the help of wealthy Arab nations that could contribute to reconstruction and potentially participate in peacekeeping efforts.
‘Nobody’s going to be forced to leave’
Trump, who earlier this year suggested that the US could take over Gaza’s administration, dismissed speculation that Palestinians would be displaced from the territory. “Nobody’s going to be forced to leave. No, it’s just the opposite. This is a great plan,” he said.
Despite his central role in brokering the deal, Trump downplayed questions about whether he might finally win the Nobel Peace Prize, which is set to be announced Friday. “I don’t know what they’re going to do, really. But I know this — nobody in history has solved eight wars in a period of nine months,” he said, referring to his claimed diplomatic achievements.
‘Extraordinary efforts’ behind the deal
Trump’s cabinet officials praised his leadership in achieving the breakthrough. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had handed Trump a note a day earlier indicating that a deal was imminent, commended the president’s determination.
“Frankly, I don’t know of any American president in the modern era that could have made this possible,” Rubio said during the cabinet meeting. He hinted at the complexity of the negotiations, which reportedly saw Trump pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and coordinate with Arab and Muslim states to influence Hamas.
“One day, perhaps the entire story will be told,” Rubio said, describing the president’s “extraordinary phone calls and meetings that required a high degree of intensity and commitment” to secure the peace deal.
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