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Agence France-Presse

US President Donald Trump said he expected to travel to the Middle East on Sunday to celebrate the first phase of the Gaza peace deal and be there for the release of hostages by Hamas.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump said the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian armed group had “ended the war in Gaza”.
The US leader 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.
He 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,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Israel’s government ratified the ceasefire with Hamas early on Friday morning, clearing the way to suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours and free Israeli hostages held in Gaza within 72 hours after that.
But Trump said that the bodies of some of the dead hostages would be “hard to find”.
Hamas took 251 people hostage into Gaza, where 47 remain, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has devastated the territory and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said earlier that he had invited his US counterpart to take part in a “celebration to be held in Egypt” for the agreement for the first phase of a ceasefire.

The Republican gave few details about the second phase of the peace deal and the future of Gaza.
During an earlier meeting of his cabinet, Trump said “there will be disarming, there will be pullbacks”, in apparent reference to Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm and calls by the Palestinian group for Israel to withdraw its forces, but did not elaborate.
He added that Gaza would be “slowly redone” and indicated that Arab states with “tremendous wealth” would help it rebuild, as well as possibly taking part in peacekeeping efforts.
Trump, who in February proposed that the US take over Gaza, also rejected speculation that Palestinians could be forced out of the devastated enclave.
“Nobody’s going to be forced to leave. No, it’s just the opposite. This is a great plan,” Trump said.
Trump, however, played down the question of whether he would achieve his long-held dream of winning the Nobel Peace Prize, whose laureate is announced on Friday.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do, really. But I know this, that nobody in history has solved eight wars in a period of nine months,” he said in response to a question by an Agence France-Presse reporter.
His cabinet officials lined up to praise him, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had on Wednesday handed the US president a note during an event saying a deal was imminent.
“Frankly, I don’t know of any American president in the modern era that could have made this possible,” Rubio said during the cabinet meeting.
Rubio also hinted at the tough negotiations that led to the agreement, which saw Trump pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rally Arab and Muslim states to lean on Hamas.
“One day, perhaps the entire story will be told,” Rubio said.
“The president had some extraordinary phone calls and meetings that required a high degree of intensity and commitment and made this happen.”
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Israel-Gaza war

Trump to head to Middle East, says Gaza hostages to be freed Monday or Tuesday

People celebrate in Tel Aviv on Thursday following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan . Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

‘Nobel 4 Trump’ created by agricultural artist Peter Winner in a field near Kibbutz Maoz Haim in northern Israel. Photo: Reuters

How Donald Trump pulled off his Gaza deal

US President Donald Trump speaks at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House last month. Photo: EPA

US President Donald Trump (centre right), alongside Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaks during a meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House last month. Photo: EPA

Palestinian Authority eyes post-war Gaza role, banking on Arab support to defy Trump plan

A displaced Palestinian child waves the Palestinian national flag at the Bureij camp for refugees in the central Gaza Strip on September 22. Photo: AFP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (right) extends his hand to US President Donald Trump after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem in 2017. Photo: Reuters

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa (centre) meets with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy (right) and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne in the West Bank city of Ramallah in August 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

Palestinians check the devastation following an Israeli strike that hit Gaza City’s southern al-Zeitoun neighbourhood on August 8. Photo: AFP

Israel and Hamas sign ceasefire and hostage deal, sparking hope for peace in Gaza

Palestinians in Khan Younis on Thursday celebrate, after US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire. Photo: Reuters

Palestinians in Khan Younis celebrate after Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire. Photo: Reuters

A smoke plume billows following Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed on a Gaza ceasefire deal in a major step towards ending a war. Photo: AFP

Israelis await return of Gaza hostages: ‘they’re coming back’

People celebrate at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Thursday following the announcement of the new Gaza ceasefire deal. Photo: AFP

People in Tel Aviv on Thursday react as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting. Photo: AP

Einav Zangauker (right), mother of Matan Zangauker, who is being held hostage by Hamas, reacts to the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan. Photo: AP

Israel and Hamas agree to first phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan

People celebrate the peace plan announcement at the ‘Hostages Square’ in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo: Reuters

Palestinians celebrate on a street in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip following news of a deal. Photo: Reuters

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, reacts to the news. Photo: Reuters

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Photo: AP

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World

Middle East

The US president will travel to the region to celebrate the Gaza peace deal’s first phase after Israel ratified the ceasefire framework


The US president will travel to the region to celebrate the Gaza peace deal’s first phase after Israel ratified the ceasefire framework.


Trump to head to Middle East, says Gaza hostages to be freed Monday or Tuesday

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The US president will travel to the region to celebrate the Gaza peace deal’s first phase after Israel ratified the ceasefire framework

The US president will travel to the region to celebrate the Gaza peace deal’s first phase after Israel ratified the ceasefire framework