U.S. President Donald Trump departed Sunday for Israel and Egypt on a high-profile peace mission, declaring that the “war is over” in Gaza despite uncertainty about what will follow a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Trump's lightning visit is designed to celebrate his role in brokering last week's ceasefire and hostage release deal, but it comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes next.
The 79-year-old president is due to arrive in Israel shortly after the expected release of the hostages by Hamas. He will address parliament before heading to Egypt to host a major peace summit.
"The war is over. Okay? You understand that?" Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if he was confident that the conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas was finished.
Speaking before he boarded at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, Trump added that the visit was going to be a "very special time."
"Everybody's very excited about this moment in time. This is a very special event," said Trump, holding an umbrella as light rain fell.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and top U.S. military officer Dan Caine were traveling with him on the presidential jet.
Trump, whose name was chanted by crowds in Israel on Saturday, said the phase one agreement that he announced last week had people "cheering" in both Israel and in Muslim and Arab countries.
"Everybody's cheering at one time, that's never happened before. Usually if you have one cheering the other isn't, the other is the opposite," Trump said.
"This is the first time everybody is amazed and they're thrilled and it's an honor to be involved," he said, adding that "we're going to have an amazing time."
After arriving in Israel, Trump is due to meet the families of hostages seized by Hamas in its October 7, 2023 cross-border attack, which left 1,219 people dead and triggered Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
Tel Aviv estimates that 48 Israelis are held in Gaza, including 20 still alive, while more than 11,100 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel, many of whom suffer from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, conditions that have led to deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect Friday at noon (0900GMT). Israeli forces completed a gradual withdrawal to the so-called yellow line that afternoon, triggering a 72-hour window for the exchange process.
A second phase of the plan reportedly envisions creating a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas, forming a joint security force of Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and disarming Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave uninhabitable.
Trump will later deliver remarks to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, becoming the fourth U.S. president to do so. He is due to spend less than four hours on Israeli soil.
Trump will then head to Egypt where he and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of more than 20 world leaders to back his plan to end the Gaza war and promote Middle East peace.
The two-term president has already claimed the Gaza deal as a major personal victory, with his trip to the region clearly aimed at proclaiming his success in freeing hostages held by Hamas.
But Trump will also be looking to resolve some of the huge uncertainty around the next phases of the Gaza deal and securing a longer-term solution for the Middle East.
Trump has said he will preside over a "Board of Peace" as part of his 20-part plan, but he has remained vague about how the next steps will play out.
Many of the most crucial issues have yet to be hammered out, ranging from Hamas's refusal to disarm, and Israel's failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory.
Trump said only last week that he was confident of peace because "they're all tired of the fighting."
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that Trump would exert "consistent leverage and consistent pressure" on all parties.
