President Donald Trump speaks with reporters earlier than boarding Air Force One as he heads to the Middle East. | Photo Credit: AP
Mr. Trump’s lightning go to is designed to have a good time his function in brokering final week’s ceasefire and hostage launch deal – however it comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes subsequent.
The 79-year-old President is because of arrive in Israel shortly after the anticipated launch of the hostages by Hamas. He will tackle parliament earlier than heading to Egypt to host a serious peace summit.
“The war is over. Okay? You understand that?” Mr. Trump informed reporters aboard Air Force One when requested if he was assured that the battle between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas was completed.
Speaking earlier than he boarded at Joint Base Andrews close to Washington, Mr. Trump added that the go to was going to be a “very special time.”
“Everybody’s very excited about this moment in time. This is a very special event,” mentioned Mr. Trump, holding an umbrella as mild rain fell.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and prime US navy officer Dan Caine had been travelling with him on the presidential jet.
Mr. Trump, whose title was chanted by crowds in Israel on Saturday, mentioned the section one settlement that he introduced final week had folks “cheering” in each Israel and in Muslim and Arab international locations.
“Everybody’s cheering at one time, that’s never happened before. Usually if you have one cheering the other isn’t, the other is the opposite,” Mr. Trump mentioned.
“This is the first time everybody is amazed and they’re thrilled and it’s an honor to be involved,” he mentioned, including that “we’re going to have an amazing time.”
‘Tired of the combating’
After arriving in Israel, Mr. Trump is because of meet the households of hostages seized by Hamas in its October 7, 2023 cross-border assault, which left 1,219 folks useless, most of them civilians, and triggered Israel’s devastating Gaza marketing campaign.
He will then ship remarks to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, turning into the fourth U.S. President to take action. He is because of spend lower than 4 hours on Israeli soil.
Editorial |Pause, not peace: On the Hamas-Israel ceasefire settlement
Mr. Trump will then head to Egypt the place he and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of greater than 20 world leaders to again his plan to finish the Gaza struggle and promote Middle East peace.
The two-term President has already claimed the Gaza deal as a serious private victory, along with his journey to the area clearly geared toward proclaiming his success in releasing hostages held by Hamas.
But Mr. Trump will even be trying to resolve a few of the big uncertainty across the subsequent phases of the Gaza deal and securing a longer-term resolution for the Middle East.
Mr. Trump has mentioned he’ll preside over a “Board of Peace” as a part of his 20-part plan, however he has remained obscure about how the subsequent steps will play out.
Many of essentially the most essential points have but to be hammered out, starting from Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and Israel’s failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory.
Mr. Trump mentioned solely final week that he was assured of peace as a result of “they’re all tired of the fighting.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance mentioned on Sunday that Mr. Trump would exert “consistent leverage and consistent pressure” on all events.
Published – October 13, 2025 03:21 am IST
Leave a Comment