JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump on Monday hailed the Gaza peace deal he brokered, saying that it ended the ‘long and painful nightmare’ for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Addressing the Israeli parliament, Trump described the deal as the dawn of a new Middle East.
“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.
He added: “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.”
Meanwhile, several buses carrying prisoners released by Israel in exchange for hostages freed by Hamas arrived in the Gazan city of Khan Yunis.
Thousands of people gathered to welcome the prisoners, cheering and waving Palestinian flags in celebration.
Trump termed the agreement an “incredible triumph for Israel and the world” as he thanked mediators from the Arab and Muslim world.
“Let me also convey my tremendous appreciation for all of the nations of the Arab and Muslim world that came together to press Hamas to set the hostages free and to send them home,” Trump said.
The US president also hoped for a peace deal with Iran, after the US joined Israel in striking the country’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.
Trump, however, said the ball was in Tehran’s court for any agreement to come to pass. “We’re ready when you are.”
He also defended pulling out of an agreement brokered under ex-president Barack Obama on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“I terminated the Iran nuclear deal and I was very proud to do it,” Trump said.
His 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 speech, Trump called for a pardon for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing multiple court cases in which he stands accused of corruption.
“Hey, I have an idea. Mr. President (Isaac Herzog), why don’t you give him a pardon?” Trump said during an address to Israel’s parliament.
“By the way, that was not in the speech, as you probably know. But I happen to like this gentleman right over here, and it just seems to make so much sense, you know.”
Meanwhile, the health ministry in Gaza said that the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has reached 67,869.
“The total toll of the Israeli aggression since October 7, 2023, has risen to 67,869 martyrs,” the ministry said, as it continued recovering the bodies of those killed during the war.
Gaza summit
Later in the day, Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-chair a summit of a host of world leaders in Sharm El-Sheikh.
After the Egyptian presidency announced Netanyahu’s expected attendance, the Israeli leader said he was unable to go because the summit coincides with a Jewish holiday.
The Egyptian foreign ministry had said that a “document ending the war in the Gaza Strip” was expected to be signed during the “historic” gathering.
According to three diplomatic sources, mediators the US, Egypt, Qatar and likely Turkey would sign a guarantee document during the summit.
Hamas will not be represented at the summit, though Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will attend.
Among those also expected are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Representation is also expected from the EU and Arab League, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India and Germany, among others.
