US President Donald Trump on Monday achieved the victory he had long dreamed of: the release of the hostages held captive by Hamas for two years and a celebration of the peace agreement for Israel and Gaza, in which he played a decisive role by pressuring the parties to sign the pact."We finally have peace in the Middle East," said Trump, surrounded by more than 20 world leaders who recognized his role in the regional turnaround.
Some described Trump's tour as a triumphant"Olympic lap" in the region. The White House chief first made a lightning trip to Israel, where he spoke before the Israeli parliament (Knesset) around midday, declaring that"a new dawn was dawning in the Middle East" to a standing ovation from lawmakers.
The Republican arrived just as the release of 20 people from Hamas was announced, who were able to embrace their loved ones in scenes of enormous emotion, a historic moment they had waited for too long.
A few hours late, Trump traveled to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where world leaders waited patiently and praised his role in halting the violence and devastation in Gaza.
This was Eitan Horn's reunion with his family.
The decor at the Egyptian resort put Trump front and center. Advertisements featured posters featuring Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez; French President Emmanuel Macron; and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer; and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, featuring a smiling Trump welcoming them to"the land of peace." Also present was FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has become a close personal friend of the American.
Trump led the meeting's agenda, which included an individual greeting from the White House leader to all attendees from a red-covered, tiered podium, under a banner reading"PEACE 2025."
"I've never seen so much happiness before," the American proclaimed. The tycoon stated that"it's the biggest and most complex deal, and it's also the place that could cause tremendous problems, like World War III."
“World War III would start in the Middle East, and that's not going to happen. In fact, we don't want it to start anywhere, but it's not going to happen. So I just wanted to thank you all,” Trump said.
Trump ultimately signed a document, as did the leaders of Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar, who joined the United States in negotiating the swap. But the document's contents were not immediately clear, and it was not signed by Israel or Hamas, neither of which had representatives at the meeting.
Beyond the praise, Trump played an important role in the agreement by pressuring the parties to agree to sign it. Bill Clinton himself—who, along with Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Yasser Arafat, brokered the historic 1993 Oslo Accords, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize—acknowledged that Trump, Qatar, and other leaders deserved “great credit” for their efforts.
Time magazine published a photo of the American on its cover with the headline"His Triumph." It says the agreement could be "a signature achievement" of Trump's second term.
But it is also true that the Hamas leadership was already weakened after successive blows and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was facing strong internal resistance for the devastation caused in Gaza and for not bringing the hostages back to their homes.
In addition, several countries, such as France and Great Britain, shook things up by announcing their recognition of the Palestinian state. But Trump seems to be getting all the credit, much of it deserved.
But beyond Trump's enthusiasm, many unanswered questions remain about whether Israel and Hamas can achieve a lasting peace, and about the future of war-torn Gaza. Among the issues are whether Hamas will disarm, whether the ceasefire will hold, who will pay for Gaza's reconstruction, and who will ultimately sit on its governing council.
And even while Trump was in Jerusalem, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that Hamas had released the remains of only four of the 28 hostages who had died in captivity."Every intentional delay or avoidance will be considered a blatant violation of the agreement and will be responded to accordingly," he posted on X.
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