Trump insists there is momentum towards a ‘lasting peace’ in the Middle East
US President Donald Trump has insisted there is momentum towards a “lasting peace” in the Middle East following the release of the final 20 living Israeli hostages from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israel’s jails.
Trump received multiple standing ovations during a speech in the Knesset, in which he said the Gaza peace deal he brokered marked “not only the end of war” but “the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony” between Israel and its neighbours.
Later he participated in a “peace summit” hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh and also attended by leaders from Europe and the Middle East.
Trump, the presidents of Egypt and Turkey and the Emir of Qatar signed a text about the Gaza peace deal.
Trump said there was momentum “towards a great, glorious and lasting peace” in the Middle East and suggested he would stay the course to see his 20-point Gaza peace plan implemented in full, beyond the initial ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The office of Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli prime minister would not go to the summit.
The Israeli military said on Monday that Hamas had released the final 13 living hostages after handing over seven others earlier in the day to the Red Cross at a location in Gaza.
Israeli authorities later confirmed they had released 1,968 Palestinian prisoners from jail as part of the Gaza ceasefire arrangements.
The exchange, the first phase of Trump’s peace plan unveiled this month following repeated failed attempts to end the fighting, is also due to include the return of the bodies of 28 dead hostages.
If completed, it would mark a big but not conclusive step towards ending the deadliest chapter in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz accused Hamas of failing to meet its commitments under the peace plan by announcing it would only return four bodies of deceased hostages on Monday.
The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack on Israel and has since claimed the lives of nearly 68,000 Palestinians and nearly 2,000 Israelis.
But Israel and Hamas have yet to agree to the second phase of Trump’s plan, which is designed to bring about a permanent end to the fighting.
Trump’s exit from Egypt draws curtain on whirlwind Middle East tour
Donald Trump’s departure from Egypt has drawn the curtain on the summit designed to bring about a permanent end to fighting between Israel and Hamas.
The US president left aboard Air Force One just before 9pm local time, having been hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Trump and leaders from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar signed the text of the Gaza peace agreement in the presence of about two dozen leaders from Europe and the Middle East.
It was a whirlwind tour of the region for Trump, who earlier addressed Israel’s Knesset against the backdrop of Israel and Hamas conducting the release of each others’ hostages and prisoners.
Trump says he will be a ‘partner in securing a better future’ in Middle East
Donald Trump said there was momentum “toward a great, glorious and lasting peace” and suggested he would stay the course to see his 20-point Gaza peace plan implemented beyond the initial ceasefire phase.
Many in the region are concerned the next phase, which includes the disarming of Hamas militants, may prove difficult and lead to a new flare-up of war.
There are also concerns the US president may lose interest if the process breaks down and appears intractable.
Trump, in his closing words at the Gaza peace summit, insisted he would be “a partner in securing a better future”, and that there would be “a lot of money coming into Gaza and a lot of . . . building, cleaning up and building”.
One condition, however, was “that Gaza’s reconstruction requires that it be demilitarised”, he said.