Donald Trump with a stroke of a pen formally solidified the Israel-Hamas peace plan following the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza . The president was surrounded by world leaders from across the Middle East in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on Monday to conclude the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement. ‘This took 3,000 years to get to this point. Can you believe it? And it’s going to hold up too. It’s going to hold up,’ Trump said while signing the document. The exact content of the document is not clear.

Trump was flanked by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron , German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, along with Gulf nation leaders in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Absent from the signing in Egypt were leaders from Hamas and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited by Trump to the meeting, but declined citing a Jewish holiday as reasoning for his absence. The president proclaimed the signing as a turning point in the region for peace.

‘This is the day that people across this region and around the world have been working, striving, hoping, and praying for,’ Trump added. ‘They have done things over the last month that I think were really unthinkable. Nobody thought this could happen. With the historic agreement we have just signed, those prayers of millions have finally been answered.’ Outside of Trump, the document was also signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Trump noted the document constructs the groundwork for the future of the Gaza region. During his speech in Israel ‘s parliament known as the Knesset, Trump shared his hope that the signing would officially end the decades long conflict between Israel and Gaza.

‘You’ve won,’ Trump told Israeli politicians. ‘Now it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.’ The president also vowed to help rebuild Gaza, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, but urged Gazans to ‘turn forever from the path of terror and violence.’

As Trump arrived into Israel on Monday, Hamas released the remaining Twenty hostages as part of the first phase of the agreement intended to end the war. In exchange, Israel released 2,000 Palestinians, including 250 Hamas militants, as well as began the withdrawal of IDF troops from the region.

Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble, and the territory´s roughly 2 million residents continue to struggle in desperate conditions. Under the deal, Israel agreed to reopen five border crossings, which will help ease the flow of food and other supplies into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

Roughly 200 U.S. troops will help support and monitor the ceasefire deal as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private-sector players.