U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he expected to travel to the Middle East on Sunday to celebrate the Gaza cease-fire deal, shortly after describing it as an "incredible day" made possible with the help of key regional leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
His remarks came hours after Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas agreed to the long-awaited cease-fire and hostage agreement that marks the first phase of Trump's plan to end the Gaza war that has killed more than 67,000 people and reshaped the Middle East.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the agreement had "ended the war in Gaza." He added that "nobody's going to be forced to leave" the Palestinian territory under his 20-point peace plan, which formed the basis for indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Egypt.
The peace deal will see a cease-fire and an exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Trump said he hoped to travel to Israel, where he may address parliament, and maybe to Egypt. "The hostages will be coming back Monday or Tuesday. I'll probably be there, I hope to be there," he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Addressing a Cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday, Trump said: "We're going to go to Egypt, where we'll have a signing, an additional signing, and we've already had a signing representing me, but we're going to have an official signing."
Shortly before the meeting, Trump spoke to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who on Thursday also received U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who said Trump is set to travel to Egypt.
"The President is really excited to come to Egypt, and that is the plan, that he comes next week," Witkoff said in a meeting with el-Sissi, a video of which was released by the Egyptian presidency.
El-Sissi's office said he invited Trump to "participate in the celebration to be held in Egypt to mark the conclusion of the agreement for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip."
Trump expressed "tremendous gratitude" to the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other nations for their roles in reaching the peace agreement.
"President Erdoğan was personally involved in dealing with Hamas and some of the others. He's been great," he said.
"They've all been really amazing. Indonesia has been fantastic. The whole world has come together for this – people that didn't get along, people that didn't like each other," he added.
Turning to reconstruction plans for Gaza, Trump said wealthy countries in the region would contribute to rebuilding efforts.
"You have tremendous wealth in that part of the world by certain countries, and just a small part of that will do wonders for Gaza," he said. "I think you're going to see some tremendous countries stepping up and putting up a lot of money, and taking care of things."
On Sept. 29, Trump unveiled a 20-point plan for Gaza that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, a permanent cease-fire and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire enclave.
Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas' participation, the formation of a security force made up of Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of the resistance group.
It also stipulates Arab and Islamic funding for the new administration and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, with limited participation from the Palestinian Authority.
Arab and Muslim countries have welcomed the plan, but some officials have said that many details in it need discussion and negotiations to be fully implemented.
