Donald Trump has declared the Gaza deal ‘all finalized and done’ and will travel to Israel next week for the welcoming home of the hostages held by Hamas.
The president confirmed the remaining hostages, believed to number around 20 survivors, will be released to Israel on Monday or Tuesday.
‘I’ll be there,’ Trump confirmed at a meeting with the Finland PM in the Oval Office. It came just hours after Hamas declared an end to the war and as an Israeli government session to ratify the agreement began.
Chief Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said earlier: ‘We have received assurances from the brotherly mediators and the US administration, who have confirmed that the war is completely over.’
He promised that 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in Israel would be freed, alongside 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza who were arrested since the war began.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s security cabinet is poised to vote on the deal, which would see all remaining hostages freed within 72 hours of the ceasefire.
‘It will be a day of joy,’ Trump stated, noting that the Israeli hostages held by Hamas ‘should be released Monday or Tuesday.’
Trump said there were still discussions coordinating the release of the hostages.
‘I’ll be there,’ Trump confirmed at a meeting with the Finland PM in the Oval Office
Senator Marco Rubio praises the President’s role in the Gaza peace deal, noting that a month ago, no one thought it was possible
He said: ‘Getting them is a complicated process. I would rather not tell you what they have to do to get them. There are places you don’t want to be.’
Trump revealed he would travel to the Middle East ‘very soon’ but that the timing and details were still being worked out.
‘It’s really peace in the Middle East,’ he said, noting that he had proved the skeptics wrong after they believed he would never reach a deal.
The president confirmed he had agreed to speak at Israel’s house of representatives. Israeli press tonight reported that he will arrive in Israel on Sunday.
‘They’ve asked me to speak at the Knesset and I’ve agreed to it. If they would like me to, I would do it,’ he said.
He reminded the public of the atrocities of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel which killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. But he also noted that 70,000 lives had been lost in Gaza.
‘That’s big retribution… at some point the whole thing has to stop,’ he said.
‘We are getting the hostages back on Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday,’ Trump told his cabinet, saying the agreement will be signed in Egypt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet convened Thursday evening to approve the deal.
People celebrate at the ‘Hostages square’ today, after Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire
Palestinians celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting,
An Israel government official said a full ceasefire would begin 24 hours after approval, with Hamas then having 72 hours to return all hostages.
Trump also revealed details of the future of the deal, noting that it would not include a proposals forcing fPalestinians to leave Gaza while it is rebuilt.
‘Nobody’s going to be forced to leave, no — it’s just the opposite. This is a great peace plan. This is a plan that was supported by everybody,’ he said. ‘They’re dancing in the streets in many many countries right now.’
Israeli forces will withdraw to lines controlling about 53 percent of Gaza, an Israeli government spokesman added. The military said it’s preparing for the hostages’ return and redeployment.
Trump thanked the leaders from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, for coming together to pressure Gaza to make a deal.
‘Everything came together,’ he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Trump for his personal attention to the deal that began with the relationships forged in the Middle East.
‘A month ago, nobody thought this was possible,’ he said.
Rubio said Trump’s decision to meet with Arab nations of the Middle East to discuss the plan and his meeting with the Israeli PM were critical for moving the process forward.
He also indicated inside knowledge of the tumultuous process.
‘The president had some extraordinary phone calls and meetings that required a high degree of intensity,’ he revealed.
Palestinians and Israelis celebrated the news in their respective streets, waving flags and cheering.
‘Thank God the war is ended and we are alive,’ one Palestinian in Gaza told Fox News. ‘Honestly we hope the war does not come back and that this is really the end with no death and destruction afterwards.’
Crowd gathers at Hostages square, waving Israeli and U.S. flags and celebrating the ceasefire agreement reached
Trump’s announcement was the latest development in the fast-moving peace process that began after Rubio dramatically interrupted the President’s public remarks about left-wing violence in the United States.
‘I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly,’ Trump told reporters gathered at the roundtable on Wednesday.
The deal has drawn swift reaction from leaders around the world, with many viewing it as a landmark step toward ending nearly two years of devastating conflict.
Former President Barack Obama celebrated the news of the peace agreement, but did not mention Trump by name.
‘After two years of unimaginable loss and suffering for Israeli families and the people of Gaza, we should all be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight,’ he wrote on social media.
Trump took a shot at Obama during comments made later in the Oval Office, questioning why he ever got awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
‘Obama got a prize … he got elected and they gave it to Obama for doing absolutely nothing,’ Trump said.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the news was ‘a moment of profound relief felt around the world.’
‘I commend the efforts of President Donald Trump, as well as the Qatari, Egyptian, and Turkish mediators who helped make it happen,’ French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media.
Trump met with Finnish President Alex Stubb in the Oval Office Thursday afternoon, where he congratulated the president for the successful negotiations.
‘I want to congratulate you for what we have seen in the past 24 hours in Gaza. I think it’s a historic deal… this is what diplomacy is at its best,’ he said.
Israeli hostage families, as well as relatives of Palestinian prisoners, have been anxiously awaiting news of the exchange, with grassroots groups calling for full transparency on safety protocols for the returning hostages and humanitarian aid flows.
Critics warn that the ceasefire’s success hinges on fragile trust between the parties, as past agreements have been marred by accusations of violations on both sides, ranging from delays in prisoner releases to interruptions in aid convoys.
Many regional analysts emphasize that a sustainable peace will require ongoing international supervision and robust systems to prevent new outbreaks of violence in Gaza or on the Israeli border.
When asked about the future of Gaza, the president said it was ‘to be determined’ citing a ‘large group of people’ and wealthy nations in the region funding the reconstruction of Gaza.
