On Monday (13th October), US President Donald Tump visited Israel to facilitate a hostage-prisoner swap and address the Israeli Knesset. Aboard Air Force One, Trump said that the war in Gaza is “over”.
“The war is over, you understand that. I think people are tired of it (the war),” Trump told the media. Speaking about the region’s future, Trump said, “I think it’s going to normalise.”
Trump also lauded Qatar and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for the progress in Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The American President expressed optimism that some of the hostages may by released earlier than expected. He also announced that a “Board of Peace” would be set up to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.
.@POTUS: "They have the hostages — I understand all 20 — and we may get them out a little bit early… They were in places that you don't want to know about." pic.twitter.com/c9k4jVdOxN
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 12, 2025
President Trump added that everyone is happy with the Israel-Hamas war coming to end and that after Israel, he would visit Egypt for a high-level meeting. The meeting will be held in Sharm-al-Sheikh, where more than 20 world leaders would gather to finalise the framework of a peace deal and discuss Gaza’s post-war reconstruction.
“Everybody is happy, whether it’s Jewish or Muslim or the Arab countries. We are going to Egypt after Israel and we are going to meet all of the leaders of the very powerful and big countries and very rich countries and others and they’re all into this deal,” Trump said.
