Tel Aviv, Israel – US President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday for a short visit.
Following the return of living Israeli hostages to Israel after their release from the Gaza Strip.
The visit comes shortly after the US President announced that the war in Gaza was “over.” This announcement was made while heading to Israel and then Egypt, where he will chair a “peace summit” in Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday.
When Air Force One landed at Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received President Trump.
Trump is expected to deliver a speech in the Israeli Knesset.
“The war is over,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if he was confident the conflict between Israel and Hamas would end. Okay? Do you understand that.
He expressed confidence that the ceasefire “will hold”.
Before his plane took off from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, Trump described his trip to the Middle East as “very special”.
Trump will spend a few hours in Israel, where he will arrive on Monday morning. This will be his first visit since his re-election as president.
In a speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered the return of hostages held in the Gaza Strip to be a “historic event.”
“Together we have achieved tremendous victories that have amazed the whole world,” he said. And I want to tell you: wherever we fought, we won, but at the same time, I tell you that the battle is not over.
“We still face very major security challenges,” he added. Some of our enemies are trying to recover to hit us again. But we will take care of them
But he did not provide additional details.
Israel.. First stop
Trump will begin his visit to the region with a stop in Israel. There, he will address the Knesset and meet with families of hostages on Monday.
This was before moving to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to attend the peace summit.
During this visit, in the presence of the world’s most prominent leaders, “a document will be signed to end the war in the Gaza Strip.”
On Air Force One, Trump confirmed that he had received verbal “guarantees” from both sides. Additionally, other major regional players have given assurances regarding the first phase of the agreement.
He noted that he did not believe anyone “wanted to let him down”.
He said his relationship with Netanyahu was “very good.” He added, “I had some disagreements with him and they were resolved quickly.”
Trump expressed a desire to visit Gaza or at least “set foot on its land”.
He pledged that the new peace council, headed by him and dedicated to the sector, would be formed “very quickly.”
Managing the Gaza Strip, which has been torn apart by a two-year war, will be one of the issues at hand.
A “long-term” political settlement
Israel announced on Sunday that it would not send any of its representatives to the summit.
This was previously announced by a Hamas official on Saturday.
Despite the progress that has been made, mediators still have to reach a long-term political settlement. This requires Hamas to surrender its weapons and relinquish rule of Gaza.
Under Trump’s plan, Israel will withdraw its forces in stages from Gaza Strip cities.
It will be replaced by a multinational force. The work of this force will be coordinated by a command center under American supervision in Israel.
According to the American plan, the government will entrust a “technocratic, non-political Palestinian committee.” This committee will be placed “under the supervision and control of a new international transitional body” headed by Trump.
The Israeli military campaign led to about 68,000 deaths, according to health authorities in the Gaza Strip.
Statistics show that more than half of those killed were women and children.
1,219 people were killed in Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel, according to a toll based on official Israeli figures.
