President Trump lands in Israel and Egypt to declare the Gaza war “over,” marking a milestone hostage exchange and fragile new truce.
In a historic Middle East moment, U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday, declaring the war in Gaza “officially over” as he headed to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for a peace summit that has begun reshaping the region’s political landscape.
Flanked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport, Trump hailed the day as one of “victory for peace and humanity,” moments before flying onward to Egypt for the Red Sea peace summit — the first of its kind since the signing of the Abraham Accords.
The agreement brokered under Trump’s renewed mediation effort led to the release of all 20 surviving Israeli hostages and the handover of 28 bodies, marking the end of Hamas’s hold over Gaza. In exchange, Israel will release around 2,000 Palestinian detainees, mostly low-level offenders, as part of a tightly supervised arrangement coordinated through the International Red Cross.
Trump, visibly moved by the emotional reunions between freed hostages and their families, said:
“We’ve ended the war, and we’ve opened a new chapter — one where peace is no longer just a dream for the Middle East.”
The peace summit, held in Sharm El-Sheikh, brings together leaders from Israel, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, as well as international observers, to discuss Gaza’s reconstruction and the region’s post-war political order. Yet the central question remains: Who will govern Gaza now?
While the exchange of hostages and detainees marks a diplomatic triumph, the road ahead is fraught with challenges. Negotiations are still underway regarding security control, humanitarian management, and long-term reconstruction of Gaza. For Hamas, analysts say, this deal represents a total loss of leverage — “the beginning of the end for the terror group’s rule,” according to one Israeli official.
As Israel celebrates the safe return of its citizens, the symbolism of Trump’s arrival — walking side by side with Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport — underscores a reassertion of Western influence in the Middle East and the unbreakable alliance between Washington and Jerusalem.
From Tel Aviv to Sharm El-Sheikh, the message is clear: Israel has survived, Hamas has fallen, and peace — forged through strength — has finally returned to the region.
