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President Donald Trump departed Sunday for Israel and Egypt to mark the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas and to press Middle Eastern allies to build on what he described as a rare opportunity for lasting peace in the region.
It marks the first trip by an American president to Israel since the end of the war that began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault. The visit comes at a fragile moment as both sides begin implementing the first phase of what the White House calls the Trump agreement — a multi-stage framework intended to permanently halt hostilities and stabilize Gaza.
“The war is over, OK?” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One before departing Washington. “I think people are tired of it.” He said he believed the ceasefire would hold, citing what he described as war fatigue on both sides.
The Republican president’s trip underscores his view that a narrow window exists to reshape regional dynamics and rebuild war-torn Gaza after months of devastating conflict. Trump has claimed credit for weakening Iranian proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, through U.S. and Israeli military operations.
White House officials said the president’s goal is to consolidate the ceasefire while rallying Arab and Muslim partners to help fund Gaza’s reconstruction. “Momentum is building,” one senior administration official said. “We are seeing regional actors focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term grievances.”
A delicate phase in the ceasefire plan
Under the first stage of the agreement, Hamas is to release the remaining 48 hostages still held in Gaza, about 20 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The deal also calls for Israeli troops to withdraw from major population centers, permit a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and reopen border crossings to allow food, water, and fuel deliveries.
Israeli forces completed partial withdrawals on Friday, triggering a 72-hour countdown for Hamas to begin releasing hostages. Trump said he expects those transfers to be completed early this week while he is in the region.
The president will first visit Israel, where he plans to meet families of the hostages, address the Knesset, and potentially greet newly freed captives. “Knock on wood, but we feel very confident the hostages will be released,” Vice President JD Vance said Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation.
Trump will then travel to Egypt, where he and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi are scheduled to lead a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh with more than 20 regional and international leaders on Gaza’s future and prospects for wider peace.
Postwar uncertainty and political risk
Despite the ceasefire, deep uncertainty remains over who will govern Gaza, how it will be rebuilt, and whether Hamas will agree to disarm. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel will continue “the demilitarization of Hamas” even as troops pull back.
“Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt the sword was on its neck — and it is still on its neck,” Netanyahu said.
H.R. McMaster, Trump’s former national security adviser, said last week that he doubts Hamas will voluntarily lay down arms. “The chances of Hamas disarming themselves are pretty close to zero,” McMaster said during a panel hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The Israeli military is going to have to destroy them.”
The ceasefire’s success is further complicated by Israel’s ongoing control over millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where settlement expansion continues. Meanwhile, Israel faces mounting international scrutiny, including genocide allegations before the International Court of Justice and arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defense minister.
Rebuilding Gaza and renewing diplomacy
Much of Gaza has been left in ruins, with widespread famine and displacement. Trump has said wealthy regional partners should take the lead in reconstruction, though he acknowledged the scope of devastation.
“I don’t know about the Riviera for a while,” Trump said, referring to a remark earlier this year that Gaza could become “the Riviera of the Middle East.” He called the territory “a demolition site,” but added, “I’d like to put my feet on it, at least.”
Under the agreement, Israel reopened five border crossings over the weekend to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. The White House said a U.S.-led civil-military coordination center, based in Israel, will oversee aid logistics, security, and the flow of supplies.
About 200 U.S. troops are part of that effort, though the Pentagon stressed they will not deploy inside Gaza. “Their mission is to support, not to enforce,” Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said in a post Saturday.
Reviving the Abraham Accords
Trump also hopes the truce will revive the Abraham Accords, his signature first-term foreign policy achievement that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.
A lasting peace in Gaza could open the door to normalization talks with Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, officials said, though Riyadh has insisted it will not recognize Israel without a resolution to the Palestinian issue.
A senior administration official traveling with Trump called such a deal “the ultimate prize” for Middle East diplomacy. “If the ceasefire holds, it changes everything,” the official said.
For now, Trump faces the challenge of turning a temporary truce into a sustainable peace — a goal that has eluded U.S. presidents for decades.
