JERUSALEM (AP) — President Donald Trump was in Israel on Monday to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas before continuing on to Egypt for a key summit that he hopes will solidify an end to the war and pave the way for a more durable peace in the Middle East.
“This is a great day, this is a whole new beginning,” Trump told reporters after arriving at the Knesset. “And I think there’s never been an event like it, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He received several standing ovations from Israeli lawmakers as he prepared to give a speech after meeting with the families of hostages. He may also stop at the Sheba Medical Center to meet some of the hostages themselves.
Twenty hostages were released Monday as part of an agreement intended to end the conflict that began on Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants. By early afternoon, Israel also began to release Palestinian prisoners.
There was talk of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joining Trump in Egypt, along with more than two dozen other leaders. Egypt even announced his attendance after Netanyahu spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
