Washington, D.C. – October 13, 2025 – U.S. President Donald Trump boldly proclaimed the two-year Gaza war "over" on Sunday, just hours after departing Joint Base Andrews aboard Air Force One for a high-profile trip to Israel and Egypt. The announcement came amid the fragile implementation of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, marking what Trump described as a "strong, durable, and everlasting peace" in the region. The president's optimistic remarks, delivered to reporters mid-flight en route to Tel Aviv, underscore the culmination of intense diplomatic efforts that began with his 20-point proposal unveiled last month.
"The war is over, okay? You understand that?" Trump stated emphatically, responding to questions about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reluctance to formally acknowledge the conflict's end. Speaking from the presidential suite of Air Force One, Trump emphasized the ceasefire's resilience, attributing its potential success to widespread exhaustion after "centuries" of strife, though the current hostilities trace back to Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that killed 1,195 people and triggered a devastating Israeli response. "There are a lot of reasons why it's going to hold. But I think people are tired of it," he added, referencing the agreement's roots in his September 29 proposal, which Hamas and Israel ratified in its first phase on October 9.
The ceasefire, effective since Friday, October 11, has already seen initial steps toward hostage releases and aid inflows, with displaced Palestinians beginning cautious returns to northern Gaza amid scenes of rubble-strewn streets and tentative hope. Under the deal's Phase One, Hamas is set to release all remaining Israeli captives—estimated at around 20 living and others deceased—in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, including high-profile figures like Marwan Barghouti. Israeli forces have begun a partial withdrawal to pre-agreed lines, opening the Rafah crossing for bidirectional humanitarian aid, which includes food, medical supplies, and equipment for rubble clearance. Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. mediated the talks, with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner playing pivotal roles in bridging gaps during marathon sessions in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Trump's journey marks his first major foreign trip since the deal's announcement, blending bilateral meetings in Israel with the landmark Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit in Egypt. Accompanied by a high-level delegation—including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine—the president is scheduled to land in Tel Aviv at 9:20 a.m. local time (6:20 GMT) on Monday. There, he will meet families of the remaining hostages, many of whom have endured over two years of captivity, and deliver a landmark address to Israel's Knesset, the parliamentary body. Netanyahu, facing domestic pressure from right-wing coalition members like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir—who have threatened to collapse the government over the truce—has appealed for national unity, warning that the military campaign against Hamas remnants is "not over."
From Tel Aviv, Trump's itinerary shifts to Egypt, departing at 1 p.m. (11:00 GMT) for Sharm el-Sheikh, where he is expected to arrive by 1:45 p.m. local time (10:45 GMT). The Red Sea resort town, already buzzing with preparations—flags of attending nations fluttering near the airport and security tightened—will host the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. More than 20 world leaders are confirmed to attend, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Notably, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will participate, though neither Netanyahu nor Hamas representatives have been invited, highlighting the summit's focus on international endorsement rather than direct negotiations. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also expected, alongside European Council President António Costa representing the EU.
Egypt's presidency described the gathering as a platform "to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability." A signing ceremony for the broader peace framework is anticipated, with mediators—Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey—formally endorsing Trump's plan. In a gesture of appreciation, el-Sisi plans to award Trump Egypt's highest civilian honor, the Nile Collar, recognizing his "peace efforts." Trump, in turn, lavished praise on key allies, calling Erdogan "fantastic" and crediting Turkey's mediation for "helping a lot" due to Ankara's regional influence. He also highlighted verbal guarantees from all parties, insisting they "will be held very strongly."
The summit extends beyond the ceasefire to Phase Two of Trump's blueprint, which envisions establishing a "Board of Peace"—a transitional governing body for Gaza excluding Hamas—to oversee reconstruction, deploy a multinational peacekeeping force, and facilitate Hamas's disarmament. Trump addressed uncertainties around the board's composition during his Air Force One briefing, noting that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's potential involvement remains in flux. "First, I want to find out that Tony would be popular with all, because I just don't know that," he said, acknowledging pushback from Palestinian factions wary of foreign oversight. The technocratic committee would include qualified Palestinians and international experts, with the board chaired by Trump himself, aiming to deliver public services and municipal governance in the interim.
Reconstruction looms as the next Herculean task. Trump vowed that debris clearance and rebuilding would commence "immediately," describing Gaza as "like a demolition site" with "almost the entire site... blasted." He stressed prioritizing human needs: "You have to get people taken care of first." Estimates suggest the effort could span years, with initial aid focusing on water, electricity, sewage infrastructure, hospitals, and bakeries—mirroring provisions from a short-lived January 2025 truce. The World Food Programme has called for seamless access, citing successes from the earlier ceasefire when it facilitated a third of all goods entering Gaza. Yet challenges persist: Thousands of bodies remain under rubble, and aid groups warn of famine risks in northern Gaza if flows falter.
The human cost of the war, now entering its third year, is staggering. Palestinian health authorities report over 67,600 deaths in Gaza since October 2023, with women and children comprising the majority—nearly a third under 18—leaving the 2.3 million-resident enclave largely uninhabitable. Independent analyses, including a peer-reviewed Lancet study, suggest undercounts due to collapsed healthcare infrastructure, with indirect deaths from disease and malnutrition pushing totals higher—potentially exceeding 70,000 when including West Bank fatalities. Israeli military data, leaked in August, indicates an 83% civilian death rate among Palestinians killed, a figure experts compare to extreme cases like the Rwandan genocide or the siege of Mariupol. On the Israeli side, 466 soldiers have died in Gaza operations, alongside 1,517 civilians from the initial Hamas assault. Over 170,000 Palestinians are injured, with Gaza now holding the world's highest per-capita rate of child amputees. Journalists (217 killed), academics (120), and aid workers (over 224, including 179 UNRWA staff) have borne disproportionate losses, drawing international condemnation.
This catastrophe traces to Hamas's October 7, 2023, incursion, which abducted 251 Israelis and sparked Israel's "Swords of Iron" operation. Early ceasefires in late 2023 and January 2025 collapsed—the latter due to disputes over hostage sequencing and Israeli strikes—resuming fierce fighting by March 2025. Trump's intervention, blending pressure tactics ("all hell" threats to Hamas) with coalition-building involving Arab states, Europe, and even Blair's input, revived momentum. Critics, including some in Israel's far-right, decry the deal as premature, while Hamas demands guarantees against future incursions. Yet, as Palestinians celebrated in Khan Younis and Tel Aviv's Hostage Square erupted in embraces, the truce's first 48 hours have held, with no major violations reported.
Broader implications ripple across the Middle East. The summit could "tee up" wider normalization between Israel and Arab states, per U.S. officials, while the UK plans a follow-on reconstruction conference in London with Saudi and Jordanian input. For Trump, the deal represents a potential capstone to his foreign policy legacy, though analysts caution that "the devil is in the detail"—outstanding issues like full disarmament and governance could unravel progress. As Air Force One streaked toward the Mediterranean, Trump reflected on the moment's gravity: "Everybody's very excited... This is the first time everybody is amazed and they're thrilled, and it's an honor to be involved."
In Sharm el-Sheikh, under the shadow of Sinai's mountains, world leaders will convene not just to seal a ceasefire, but to sketch a vision for Gaza's rebirth—from a "demolition site" to a hub of stability. Whether this fragile peace endures, or joins the annals of broken truces, hinges on the commitments forged this week. For now, amid the debris of two years' devastation, a sliver of dawn breaks over the Strip.
