Trump heads to the Middle East to sign a ceasefire agreement and push for peace – National

president Donald Trump Goes to Israel And Egypt on Sunday to celebrate reaching an American-brokered agreement cease-fire And the hostage deal between Israel and agitation He urged allies in the Middle East to seize the opportunity to build lasting peace in the turbulent region.

It is a fragile moment with Israel and Hamas only in the early stages of implementing the first phase of the Trump agreement designed to put a permanent end to the conflict sparked by the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants.

Trump believes there is a narrow window to reshape the Middle East and reset long-strained relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

The Republican president says it’s a moment his administration’s support for Israel’s annihilation of Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, contributed to.

The White House says momentum is also building as Arab and Muslim countries show a renewed focus on resolving the broader, decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, in some cases, deepening ties with the United States.

“I believe you will have tremendous success and Gaza will be rebuilt,” Trump said on Friday. “And there are some very rich countries, you know, out there. It would take a small fraction of their wealth to do it. And I think they want to do it.”

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement stipulates the release of the last 48 hostages held by Hamas, including about 20 who are believed to be alive. Release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel; increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza; A partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the main cities in Gaza.

Israeli forces on Friday ended their withdrawal from parts of Gaza, triggering a 72-hour countdown under the agreement for Hamas to release Israeli hostages, possibly while Trump is on the ground there. He said he expected their return to be completed on Monday or Tuesday.

Trump said he will visit Israel first, where he has been invited to address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, an honor last given to President George W. Bush during a visit in 2008. Trump will then travel to Egypt, where he and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will lead a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh with the leaders of more than 20 countries to discuss peace in Gaza and the broader Middle East.

It is a fragile truce and it is unclear whether the two sides have reached any agreement on post-conflict governance in Gaza, reconstruction of the Strip, and demands that Israel disarm Hamas. Negotiations on these issues may collapse, and Israel has hinted that it may resume military operations if its demands are not met.

“I think the chances of (Hamas) disarming, you know, are very close to zero,” H.R. McMaster, national security adviser during Trump’s first term, said at an event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on Thursday. He said he believes what will likely happen in the coming months is that the Israeli army “will have to destroy them.”

Israel continues to rule millions of Palestinians without their basic rights as settlements rapidly expand throughout the occupied West Bank. Despite growing international recognition, the establishment of a Palestinian state seems very distant due to Israel’s opposition and actions on the ground.

The conflict has left Israel isolated internationally and facing accusations of genocide, which it denies. International arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister have become effective, and the United Nations Supreme Court is considering genocide allegations brought by South Africa.

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Hamas has been destroyed militarily and has given up its only bargaining chip with Israel by releasing the hostages. But the GIA remains intact and can eventually be rebuilt if there is a long period of calm.

Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will continue to disarm Hamas after the hostages return.

“Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt that the sword was at its neck — and it is still at its neck,” Netanyahu said Friday as Israel began withdrawing its forces.

Much of the Gaza Strip has been reduced to rubble and the rebuilding process is expected to take years. The region’s population of about two million people is still suffering from desperate conditions.

Under the agreement, Israel agreed to reopen five border crossings, which will help facilitate the flow of food and other supplies into Gaza, parts of which are suffering from famine.

Trump is also setting up a US-led civil-military coordination center in Israel to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance to Gaza.

Nearly 200 U.S. troops will be sent to help support and monitor the ceasefire agreement as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations, and private sector actors.

The White House indicated that Trump is looking to quickly return attention to building on the first term’s efforts known as the Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic and trade relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

A permanent agreement in Gaza would help pave the way for Trump to begin talks with Saudi Arabia as well as Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, toward normalizing relations with Israel, according to a senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

Such a deal with Saudi Arabia, the most powerful and richest Arab country, has the potential to reshape the region and strengthen Israel’s position in historic ways.

But brokering such an agreement remains a heavy burden as the kingdom has said it will not formally recognize Israel before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.

& Edition 2025 The Canadian Press