Jerusalem, October 13, 2025 – In a dramatic turn amid the ruins of a two-year conflict that has scarred the Middle East, U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday to a hero's welcome, declaring the "long and painful nightmare" of the Gaza war over. His visit, capped by a rousing address to Israel's Knesset, came hours after Hamas released the final 20 living Israeli hostages held since the group's October 7, 2023, attack, fulfilling the first phase of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. The exchange, which saw Israel free over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, marked a tentative step toward de-escalation, even as two Israeli lawmakers staged a bold protest during Trump's speech, chanting for Palestinian statehood and denouncing what they called the "Gaza genocide."
Footage broadcast live from the Knesset plenum captured the tense moment: Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif, members of the left-wing Hadash Party, unfurled a paper banner reading "Recognize Palestine" and raised slogans demanding immediate acknowledgment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Their chants echoed accusations of genocide in Gaza, where Israeli military operations since October 2023 have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and corroborated by United Nations estimates. Security personnel swiftly escorted the duo from the chamber amid boos from the majority of lawmakers, but the incident underscored deep fissures within Israel's political landscape. Odeh, a prominent Arab-Israeli leader, later told reporters outside the Knesset, "We cannot applaud peace built on the graves of innocents. Recognition of Palestine is not a gift—it's justice delayed for too long."
Trump's speech, the first by a sitting U.S. president to the Knesset since George W. Bush in 2008, drew frequent applause from the assembly, including standing ovations for his praise of Israeli resilience and his administration's role in the hostage deal. Flanked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Trump hailed the agreement as a "historic dawn of a new Middle East," crediting his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their tireless diplomacy. "Israel has won all that can be won by force of arms," Trump declared, drawing cheers as he bashed predecessors Barack Obama and Joe Biden for what he called their "hatred toward Israel." He omitted any direct reference to Palestinian casualties or the genocide allegations, instead pivoting to vows of Hamas's disarmament and a "beautiful" reconstruction of Gaza.
The backdrop to Trump's visit was the culmination of weeks of high-stakes negotiations, accelerated after his November 2024 election victory. The ceasefire, effective since October 10, followed two prior fragile truces—one in November 2023 and another from January to March 2025—that collapsed amid mutual recriminations. Under the deal's Phase One, Hamas handed over the hostages in two groups to the International Committee of the Red Cross inside Gaza early Monday, with emotional reunions unfolding at Israeli hospitals like Beilinson in Petah Tikva. Families, many holding photos of their loved ones faded by captivity, embraced the returnees amid tears and national broadcasts. "This is the end of a nightmare, but the healing begins now," said Dani Miran, father of released hostage Omri Miran, as his son played with his young daughter at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
Yet, the agreement's fragility was evident. Israel retains control over roughly half of Gaza, with no firm timeline for full withdrawal. Hamas, in turn, has committed to handing over the remains of deceased hostages by week's end, though only four bodies—those of Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi, and Daniel Peretz—were confirmed transferred Monday. The deal also mandates increased humanitarian aid, with hundreds of trucks already surging into Gaza carrying food, medicine, and water. The World Food Programme reported facilitating a third of incoming goods, echoing efficiencies from the January 2025 truce. Displaced Palestinians, numbering over 1.9 million, began trekking northward along Gaza's battered coast, many on foot or in makeshift carts, toward homes reduced to rubble.
The war's toll remains staggering. Triggered by Hamas's October 7 assault that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages, Israel's response—a ground invasion launched October 27, 2023—has devastated the enclave. Gaza's Health Ministry reports 67,211 deaths as of October 6, with nearly a third children under 18 and women comprising over 60% of victims, per a January 2025 Lancet study analyzing traumatic injuries up to June 2024. That peer-reviewed analysis estimated 64,260 direct violent deaths in the first nine months alone, suggesting official tallies undercount by 41% due to collapsed healthcare infrastructure. Independent surveys, including one from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, project the true figure could exceed 80,000 when including indirect deaths from disease, malnutrition, and birth complications. Over 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been displaced at least once, with 97% of tree crops and 82% of annual farmland destroyed, rendering large-scale food production impossible, according to UN ecologists.
Environmental devastation compounds the humanitarian crisis: The World Health Organization documented 735 attacks on healthcare facilities from October 2023 to June 2025, killing 917 and injuring 1,411. Only 1.5% of cropland remains viable, and explosive ordnance has claimed 47 lives since the war's start, including 14 children. As former IDF commander Herzi Halevi admitted in September 2025, over 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured overall. These figures, drawn from Gaza's ministry (run by Hamas but deemed reliable by the UN and WHO for not distinguishing combatants), have been contested by Israel, which claims 20,000 Hamas fighters killed. Yet, even conservative estimates place civilian fatalities at 61%, higher than in most modern conflicts.
Globally, the war has galvanized support for Palestinian statehood, contrasting sharply with U.S. policy. While Washington continues to reject formal recognition—viewing it as a precondition for negotiations—157 of 193 UN member states now affirm Palestine as sovereign, up from 147 in April 2025. This surge, representing 81% of the UN, reflects revulsion at Gaza's destruction and echoes the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence, initially backed by over 80 nations.
The tipping point came during last month's UN General Assembly, where 11 countries—Britain, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Luxembourg, Belgium, Andorra, France, Malta, Monaco, and San Marino—formally recognized Palestine in a coordinated push led by France. French President Emmanuel Macron framed it as essential for a "sustainable peace," while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it "the exact opposite of Hamas's hateful vision." These moves, part of 20 recognitions since October 2023, include earlier 2024 actions by Norway, Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, Armenia, and several Caribbean nations like Barbados and Jamaica. G20 heavyweights like China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa had long recognized Palestine, but the Western shift—now encompassing 14 of 19 G20 members—pressures holdouts like the U.S., Germany, and Japan.
Israel's response has been defiant. Netanyahu, in a September 2025 speech, vowed no Palestinian state "will be established," citing security threats. Yet, domestic dissent, like Odeh and Cassif's protest, highlights growing calls for accountability. The International Court of Justice's ongoing genocide probe, initiated in 2024, looms large, with UN experts in September deeming Gaza's death toll and destruction meet the criteria.
From Jerusalem, Trump departed for Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh, co-hosting a "Peace Summit" with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Over 20 leaders, including Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II, EU Council President António Costa, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, Spain's Pedro Sánchez, and France's Macron, convened to endorse the ceasefire's implementation. Notably absent: Netanyahu, who declined the invite, and Hamas representatives. The agenda focuses on Gaza's reconstruction—a multi-year effort estimated at $50 billion by the UN—humanitarian access, and broader normalization, potentially tying into Trump's Abraham Accords vision.
El-Sisi awarded Trump Egypt's highest honor, the Nile Collar, for his "pivotal role" in ending the war. Abbas, denied a U.S. visa but attending via special arrangement, urged full UN membership for Palestine and reforms to the Palestinian Authority. Starmer pledged UK aid for rebuilding, emphasizing a "two-state solution." Yet, uncertainties persist: Hamas's disarmament, Gaza's governance (with Netanyahu rejecting any PA role), and preventing resurgent violence.
As Palestinians returned to northern Gaza's wreckage—passing minefields and collapsed hospitals—the summit offered a glimmer of hope. "We've lost everything, but this ceasefire means our children might see tomorrow," said one displaced mother in Gaza City. For Israelis, the hostages' return brought closure to a national trauma. Trump's plan envisions Phases Two and Three: full Israeli withdrawal, Hamas's dissolution, and a "security perimeter" until threats subside. Critics, including Palestinian officials, warn of vagueness, fearing indefinite occupation.
Two years after October 7 shattered illusions of coexistence, Sharm el-Sheikh could redefine the region—or expose the ceasefire's cracks. As Trump signed the accord amid fanfare, the world watched: Will this "new beginning" heal Gaza's uninhabitable scars, or merely pause a cycle of grief? The answer lies in the fragile trust forged Monday, amid chants for justice that even Knesset walls couldn't silence.
