Gaza peace deal is my greatest achievement — Trump
US President Donald Trump has described the newly brokered Gaza peace agreement as “the biggest accomplishment of my life,” while speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Israel on Sunday night, October 12.
The agreement coincides with the planned release of the last 20 Israeli hostages held by Hamas on Monday and aims to bring an end to a conflict that has claimed over 67,000 Palestinian lives, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Trump is scheduled to address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Monday morning, delivering what he called a message of “love and peace for eternity.” His itinerary also includes meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and families of the freed hostages.
The president noted that he had watched a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday held in solidarity with the hostages, featuring speeches from his daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and envoy Steve Witkoff.
He described the gathering as “an incredible rally,” noting the crowd’s enthusiastic cheering for his name but their reported booing of Netanyahu’s name when mentioned by Witkoff.
Looking ahead, Trump expressed enthusiasm for the international conference scheduled for later on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which will be held in support of the peace deal.
He suggested that the wide variety of attending countries demonstrates global unity behind his plan.
While noting that the Egyptian hosts managed the guest list, Trump commented that he did not know why Prime Minister Netanyahu was not expected to attend, but viewed the attendance of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a positive development.
The president also asserted that the Gaza deal’s success was linked to his previous decision to order an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June.
He claimed that the weakening of Iran’s backing made Hamas more amenable to compromise and that resolving the issue of Iran’s nuclear program enabled Arab and Muslim nations involved in the talks to unite around finalizing the agreement.
