President Donald Trump announced on Monday, following a landmark ceremony in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, that the agreement between Israel and Hamas to commence the initial phase of a peace deal fulfills the prayers of countless people.
Trump made his statements alongside other global leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This followed the signing of a peace accord with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“This is the day that people across the region and around the world have been working, striving, hoping, and praying for,” Trump said.
“With the historic agreement we’ve just signed, those prayers of millions have finally been answered. As you know, the hostages have been returned, and further work continues concerning the — sadly — efforts to recover bodies,” he mentioned.
Trump proclaimed “peace in the Middle East” and stressed that many believed this outcome was unattainable. He shared his hope, earlier in the day, that Iran would eventually comply in the face of substantial sanctions and the deactivation of its nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan as a consequence of Operation Midnight Hammer.
“After years of suffering and bloodshed, the war in Gaza is over. Humanitarian aid is now streaming in, including hundreds of truckloads of food, medical supplies, and other essentials, much of it funded by individuals present here,” he stated.
He highlighted that civilians are returning home and hostages are being reunited with their families.
“I’m just watching it backstage. The level of love and sorrow–I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
“It’s astonishing when you consider they haven’t seen their mother, their father, they haven’t seen them in such a long time, and they lived in a tunnel, very little tunnel, very deep, and the level of love is just incredible,” he remarked.
Trump also noted that he and the other world leaders have agreed to help Gaza and “lift up the people themselves.” But, he emphasized, “We don’t want to fund anything having to do with bloodshed, hatred, or terror.”
“For the same reason, we also agreed that Gaza’s reconstruction requires that it be demilitarized and that a new honest civilian police force must be allowed to create a safe condition for the people in Gaza,” he added.
The president spoke to the opportunities at hand in the region if it stays the course of peace.
“So together, let us continue in the spirit of cooperation and goodwill that has finally brought us to this incredible, historic breakthrough,” he said.
“If we do, together we will reach the Middle East’s incredible destiny–a safe and prosperous and beautiful crossroads of culture and commerce, faith in humanity, and geographic center,” he added. “This will be the geographic center of the world.”
