Gaza ceasefire ‘will hold,’ says Trump, vowing peace across the Middle East

US president predicts Gaza deal will hold beyond first phase, claims both sides are committed to ending the conflict and rebuilding the entire Middle East.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump expressed optimism regarding the prospects for the full implementation of his Gaza peace deal, predicting the agreement will lead to peace not only between Israel and Gaza but across the Middle East.

Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, the president called the agreement a “great deal for everybody.”

“It’s a great deal for Israel, but it’s a great deal for everybody — for Arabs, for Muslims, for everybody, for the world.”

According to Trump, Hamas already began preparing to return the 20 remaining hostages and the remains of 28 deceased captives, some of whom have yet to be located.

“And as you know, on Monday, the hostages come back. They’re getting them now,” Trump said. “They’re in some pretty rough places. Under earth, they’re in some pretty rough places where only a few people know where they are, in some cases.”

“So they’re getting them, and they’re also getting the bodies — approximately 28 bodies. And some of those bodies are being unearthed right now, as we speak. I mean, they’re working on it right now, as we speak. It’s a tragedy.”

Israel and Hamas have thus far agreed to implement the first phase of the extensive 20-point peace deal, including a ceasefire in Gaza; a partial IDF withdrawal; the large-scale entry of goods into Gaza via Egypt; and the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of 250 convicted terrorists serving life sentences, 1,700 Gazans arrested after October 7th, 2023, and some other jailed terrorists.

When asked whether he believes the deal will be fully implemented, Trump replied in the affirmative, saying that both sides were “tired of the fighting.”

“I think it’ll hold, yeah. I think it’ll hold. They’re all tired of the fighting. Don’t forget, you had October 7th, which was a horrible day — 1,200 people killed. But Hamas has lost 58,000 people. That’s big retribution.”

Trump added that the deal would ultimately bring peace to the entire Middle East.

“People understand that. So, no, I think they’re all tired of fighting. And this really gives the whole Middle East — this is beyond Gaza. Gaza is very important. But this is beyond Gaza. This is peace in the Middle East. And it is a beautiful thing.”

The president predicted “everlasting success” for the peace plan, which he said would pave the way for the reconstruction of Gaza, financed by Arab Gulf states.

“I think you’re going to have tremendous success. And Gaza is going to be rebuilt. And you have some very wealthy countries, as you know, over there. And it would take a small fraction of their wealth to do that.”