TEL AVIV (Realist English). U.S. President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that the war in Gaza was “over,” expressing confidence that the ceasefire and hostage release deal he brokered would hold as he flew to Israel aboard Air Force One to mark the end of fighting.
Speaking to reporters en route, Trump insisted the agreement signaled a lasting peace, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning hours earlier that Israel’s military campaign was not yet complete and that “major security challenges” remained.
When asked directly whether the war between Israel and Hamas was truly over, Trump replied without hesitation:
“The war is over. The war is over. Ok? You understand that?”
The president said he had received “verbal guarantees” from both Israel and Hamas — as well as from regional mediators — about the implementation of the first phase of his 20-point peace plan, adding:
“I don’t think they’re going to want to disappoint me.”
Trump said he believed the ceasefire would endure:
“I think it’s going to hold. People are tired of it. It’s been centuries.”
A symbolic visit to Israel
Trump’s trip to Israel — his first since brokering the deal — is expected to last just four hours. He will meet Netanyahu and families of the hostages, and deliver an address to the Knesset in Jerusalem.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana formally invited Trump to speak, calling him “the greatest friend and ally of the Jewish nation in modern history.” Trump, in turn, pledged that the United States would continue to work “until peace is fully realized and preserved across the region.”
He will be the fourth U.S. president to address Israel’s parliament, following Jimmy Carter (1979), Bill Clinton (1994), and George W. Bush (2008).
Following his brief stop in Israel, Trump will travel to Egypt to co-host a summit with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, bringing together more than 20 world leaders to endorse his peace initiative. Neither Israel nor Hamas will participate directly, but Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to attend.
A moment Trump calls ‘historic’
Before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Trump told reporters that the ceasefire marked a “special moment in time.”
“Everybody’s very excited about this moment. The Muslim and Arab countries are all cheering. Everybody’s cheering at one time — that’s never happened before.”
He credited Qatar for its “tremendous help” in securing the agreement, noting that Turkey also played a “fantastic” role in the negotiations.
The president said he hoped to visit Gaza in the future, describing the war-ravaged territory as “a demolition site” but expressing optimism for its recovery:
“I’d like to put my feet on it at least. I think there’s going to be a great miracle over the coming decades.”
Next steps in the peace plan
A key feature of Trump’s post-war framework is the creation of a new governing authority in Gaza, composed of Palestinian technocrats and chaired by Trump himself in an oversight role. The body, he said, would be established “very quickly.”
However, Trump signaled caution over his proposal to involve former British prime minister Tony Blair, saying he wanted to ensure the choice was “acceptable to everybody.”
As Air Force One touched down in Israel, Trump projected confidence that his most ambitious foreign policy gamble — ending the two-year Gaza war — had succeeded.
“It’s an honor to be involved,” he said. “This is something that’s never happened before — and it’s going to change the world.”
