President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that the deal for peace in Gaza has been reached and that he was planning to travel to the Middle East to celebrate. ‘It will be a day of joy,’ he predicted, noting that the Israeli hostages held by Hamas ‘should be released Monday or Tuesday.’ The president said there were still discussions coordinating the release of the hostages.

‘Getting them is a complicated process. I would rather not tell you what they have to do to get them. There are places you don’t want to be,’ he said. Trump revealed he would travel to the Middle East ‘very soon’ but that the timing and details were still being worked out . ‘It’s really peace in the Middle East,’ Trump said, noting that he had proved the skeptics wrong after they believed he would never reach a deal.

The president confirmed he had agreed to speak at the Knesset, Israel’s house of representatives. ‘They’ve asked me to speak at the Knesset and I’ve agreed to it. If they would like me to, I would do it,’ he said. He reminded the public of the atrocities of the October 7, 2022, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel which killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. But he also noted that 70,000 had been killed in Gaza.

‘That’s big retribution … at some point the whole thing has to stop,’ he said. ‘We are getting the hostages back on Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday,’ Trump told his cabinet, saying the agreement will be signed in Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s security cabinet convened Thursday evening to approve the deal.

An Israel government official said a full cease-fire would begins24 hours after approval, with Hamas then having 72 hours to return all hostages. Israeli forces will withdraw to lines controlling about 53 percent of Gaza, Bedrosian added. The military said it’s preparing for the hostages’ return and redeployment. Trump thanked the leaders from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, for coming together to pressure Gaza to make a deal.

‘Everything came together,’ he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Trump for his personal attention to the deal that began with the relationships forged in the Middle East. ‘A month ago, nobody thought this was possible,’ he said. Rubio pointed out that Trump’s decision to meet with Arab nations of the Middle East to discuss the plan and his meeting with Israli Prime Minister were critical for moving the process forward.

He also indicated inside knowledge of the tumultuous process. ‘The president had some extraordinary phone calls and meetings that required a high degree of intensity,’ he revealed. Trump’s announcement was the latest development in the fast-moving peace process that began after Secretary of State Marco Rubio dramatically interrupted the president’s public remarks about left-wing violence in the United States.

‘I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly,’ Trump told reporters gathered at the roundtable on Wednesday. The deal has drawn swift reaction from leaders around the world, with many viewing it as a landmark step toward ending nearly two years of devastating conflict.

Israeli hostage families, as well as relatives of Palestinian prisoners, have been anxiously awaiting news of the exchange, with grassroots groups calling for full transparency on safety protocols for the returning hostages and humanitarian aid flows.

Critics warn that the ceasefire’s success hinges on fragile trust between the parties, as past agreements have been marred by accusations of violations on both sides, ranging from delays in prisoner releases to interruptions in aid convoys. Many regional analysts emphasize that a sustainable peace will require ongoing international supervision and robust systems to prevent new outbreaks of violence in Gaza or on the Israeli border.