Trump heralds the dawn of a new Middle East in his speech to the Israeli parliament

US President Donald Trump told jubilant Israeli lawmakers that “this is the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” after helping to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

During the first such speech by a US president since 2008, Trump said that Monday was a “day of profound joy” after “two horrific years.”

Trump’s speech before the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, comes on the day that Hamas released the last 20 surviving hostages who were being held in the Palestinian Strip.

Israel releases 250 Palestinian prisoners and more than 1,700 other Palestinians it arrested during the two-year military operations in Gaza.

During a quick trip to the region, Trump is also expected to attend a peace summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other world leaders.

After hearing politicians chant “Trump, Trump, Trump” in the Knesset, the US president said the occasion would not only mark “the end of the war” but also the possibility of a new era “for a region that will soon be great.”

Trump’s suggestion that the region was at the dawn of a new era echoes the words he used when… Israel signed historic agreements with many Arab countries During his first term as president.

Trump was introduced to Parliament by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who praised his counterpart’s various acts of solidarity with Israel.

Netanyahu said Trump was the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had in the White House.

Netanyahu added that “everything changed” in the American position toward the Israeli military campaign in Gaza when Trump was re-elected as President of the United States last year.

The Israeli Prime Minister thanked Trump for his “continued assistance” in securing the return of the remaining hostages – part of a group of 251 people kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel.

Trump went on to offer his own praise for his counterpart, saying: “He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great.”

Earlier, the US President announced that “the war is over” in Gaza, after two years of fighting, while heading to the region from the United States on Air Force One.

The Gaza ceasefire went into effect Friday morning after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan. The next stages still need to be negotiated.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the ceasefire would hold, and that a “peace council” that he would head would quickly be formed to administer the region.

Netanyahu said in his statements before Parliament that he was “committed to this peace.”

Other key US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, were also welcomed to the Knesset alongside Trump.

The names of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner received particularly loud cheers from Israeli lawmakers, for their roles in brokering the ceasefire. Kushner was accompanied by his wife, Ivanka Trump.

Members of Trump’s audience wore red hats. Instead of Trump’s signature slogan, “Make America Great Again,” they wrote, “Trump is the President of Peace.”

The Speaker of Parliament told Trump that “there is no one” who deserves the Nobel Peace Prize next year.

But some Israeli lawmakers who want the war to continue in Gaza did not attend the conference.