Trump Arrives in Israel After the Hostage Release Deal

“This is going to be a very special time,” Trump said Sunday before takeoff aboard Air Force One, noting that both Israelis and Palestinians were celebrating the deal. “Usually, if one side is cheering, the other isn’t,” he added.

The agreement, which took effect Friday, calls for the return of all hostages and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. In exchange, Israel is to release about two thousand Palestinians held in its prisons.

The president plans to address the Knesset before traveling to Sharm el-Sheikh to take part in a peace summit. The White House hopes that the hostage release and ceasefire—outlined as the first phase of Trump’s twenty-point peace plan—will lay the groundwork for a lasting settlement.

“The war is over,” Trump said aboard the plane, expressing confidence that Gaza’s reconstruction would begin almost immediately. “The ceasefire is going to hold,” he added, suggesting that he might one day visit Gaza himself.

Despite the White House’s public optimism, senior officials remain cautious. “Everyone is confident the agreement will be implemented,” said an administration official on condition of anonymity. “But it’s wiser to stay cautiously optimistic until we see the hostages released. After that, as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have noted, there will be trust and momentum for the next phase of the deal.”

According to Israeli sources, about twenty hostages may still be alive, though their condition is unknown—a factor that could spark public outrage, particularly among right-wing groups in Israel. In February, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas after the release of three severely emaciated captives.

While the Trump administration highlights the wave of gratitude that swept through Israel following the deal, officials in the White House understand that if joy turns into grief and anger, the president’s visit could be overshadowed.

The first hostages are expected to be released around 8 a.m. local time: Hamas will hand them over to Red Cross representatives, who will transport them to Israel and transfer them to the military. In return, Israel will release about 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and roughly 1,700 detainees from Gaza who were arrested since the war began in 2023.

Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the return of hostages is a key objective of his administration, but it is only the first step in a broader plan. In the coming months, it will become clear how far he is willing to go in pressing both Israel and Hamas to fulfill the next stages of the agreement.

Key questions remain unresolved: whether Hamas will agree to disarm and who will govern Gaza afterward. The group has said it will transfer authority to an independent Palestinian technocratic committee, but the details are unclear—as is Israel’s stance on the matter.

Trump said that Hamas would be allowed to keep its weapons “for a while” and did not rule out the group’s participation in a future Palestinian security body. “They really want to stop the problems,” he said.

Trump’s public statements may serve both as a reminder of the scale of work that lies ahead and as a way to highlight the progress already achieved.

Humanitarian agencies are preparing to deliver aid to the enclave as soon as official clearance is given. On Sunday morning, trucks carrying food and medical supplies crossed the border after the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that Israel had again allowed shipments into Gaza, provided the ceasefire holds.

Germany is among the countries quietly pressuring Israel to expand the flow of humanitarian aid. Berlin is urging faster entry of relief convoys, simpler registration for NGOs, and the prompt start of reconstruction in devastated areas.

The Trump administration is deploying about two hundred service members to support peace efforts and monitor compliance with the ceasefire. The president did not specify their exact role or how long they would remain in the region, but the White House emphasized that there will be “no boots on the ground” in Gaza.

“They will monitor the implementation of the ceasefire—ensuring that Israeli forces remain in agreed positions, that Hamas does not attack Israeli civilians, and that the established peace is maintained and strengthened,” explained Vice President J.D. Vance. “But the idea of deploying troops in Gaza or Israel is not part of our plans.”