TEL AVIV: United States President Donald Trump told the Israeli parliament on Monday that the Gaza ceasefire he helped broker between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas had ushered in the “historic dawn of a new Middle East”.
“And after so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity,” he said.
“This is not only the end of a war … This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
Since October 2023, Israel’s relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,869 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Trump’s lightning visit to Israel came ahead of a summit in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh co-chaired by the American president, who has declared the conflict in Gaza “over”. Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is due to release nearly 2,000 Palestinians held in its jails.
Addressing the Israeli parliament, Trump called the agreement that brought about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the captives held by Hamas a triumph as he thanked mediators from the Arab and Muslim world.
“We had a lot of help, we had a lot of help from a lot of people that you wouldn’t suspect, and I want to thank them very much for that. It’s an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace.”
The address to the Israeli parliament was briefly interrupted as a left-wing lawmaker was expelled.
“That was very efficient,” Trump quipped as the MP was quickly taken out. The US president had paused as a Knesset staff member audibly ordered the expulsion of lawmaker Ofer Cassif after an apparent protest.
During his address, Trump hailed an end to a “painful nightmare” after two years of Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
“From October 7 until this week, Israel has been a nation at war, enduring burdens that only a proud and faithful people could withstand,” he said.
“For so many families across this land, it has been years since you’ve known a single day of true peace … The long and painful nightmare is finally over,” the US president added.
“The forces of chaos that have plagued the region are totally defeated,” he said.
Trump wants peace deal with Iran
Trump also said he wanted a peace deal with Iran, after the US joined Israel in striking the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites during a brief war earlier this year.
“They got it from one side, from the other, and you know it would be great if we could make a peace deal with them,” Trump said of Iran. “Would you be happy with that? Wouldn’t it be nice, I think. Because I think they want to. “
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Trump as the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had in the White House.
“Donald Trump is the greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House. No American president has ever done more for Israel,” Netanyahu said in parliament before Trump’s address to lawmakers.
Israel has said it does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned today.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is also due to return the bodies of the 27 captives who died or were killed in detention, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.
Among those Israel was due to release in exchange are 250 security detainees, while about 1,700 were detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the conflict.
In Gaza, too, the ceasefire has brought relief, but with much of the territory flattened by fighting, the road to recovery remains long.
Trump’s visit to the Middle East aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week’s ceasefire and hostage release deal — but comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes next.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the “very special” visit, Trump brushed off concerns about whether the ceasefire would endure.
“I think it’s going to hold. I think people are tired of it. It’s been centuries,” he said of the fighting.
“The war is over. Okay? You understand that?” the US president added.
