On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would travel to the Middle East “sometime on Sunday,” following an agreement between Israel and Hamas to release hostages held in Gaza.
The deal, reached the same day, includes a halt to fighting and a swap of detainees--Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Officials described it as the first step toward ending the two-year Gaza conflict that has shaken the region, reported Reuters.
Trump said the deal was “part of his broader push for peace in the Middle East,” explaining that his planned trip would take place right after the ceasefire and prisoner exchange arrangement was signed.
According to the agreement, Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas decided to suspend hostilities and move forward with the exchange. Trump called the accord “the opening step” in his effort to bring an end to the prolonged Gaza conflict.
Trump said on Thursday the Gaza hostages should be released on Monday or Tuesday and that he hopes to attend a signing ceremony in Egypt and address the Israeli Knesset.
Trump opened a White House cabinet meeting by discussing a deal reached on Wednesday under which the hostages held by Hamas militants are to be released in the first phase of a broader Gaza plan. He said he believed it would lead to "lasting peace."
Trump said under the plan, Gaza is going to be "slowly redone," a reference to plans to rebuild the Palestinian enclave. He did not provide details other than to say "we're going to create something where people can live. You can't live right now in Gaza."
Hamas is expected to release the 20 living hostages together, 72 hours after the ceasefire begins.
"We are getting the hostages back on Tuesday - Monday or Tuesday - and that'll be a day of joy," Trump said.
Trump said it may be difficult to retrieve all the remains of the hostages who died in captivity immediately, "because some of the bodies are going to be a little bit hard to find."
He said he was going to try to make the trip there to attend a signing ceremony in Egypt. The White House has been scrambling to work out the details of the hastily arranged trip.
The Israeli Knesset has asked Trump to speak, and the president said he was planning to do so if requested.
While questions remain about what happens in the region in the long term, Trump said he hoped it would lead to "an everlasting peace."
With inputs from Reuters
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