Trump declares 'Gaza war is over'
US President Donald Trump has made a landmark announcement that the war in Gaza is over, as a ceasefire holds and Israel and Hamas prepare for a major prisoner and hostage exchange expected to take place today (October 13).
On October 12 (US time), according to Reuters, on Air Force One flying to Israel, US President Donald Trump declared that the war in the Gaza Strip had ended and the Middle East would enter "normalization".
"The war is over, you know," Mr. Trump told reporters. Asked about the outlook for the region, he asserted: "I think it will normalize."
The US President's announcement came as a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza entered its third day. Thousands of Palestinians continued to move north to Gaza City, the focus of Israeli attacks over the past two months, in the hope that the ceasefire would truly end the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed optimism in a televised address: “Tomorrow is the beginning of a new path. A path of building, a path of healing, and I hope – a path of uniting hearts.”
Under the ceasefire deal brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, Hamas will begin releasing Israeli hostages seized in the October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Israel expected 20 surviving hostages to be released at the same time early on October 13. The bodies of the remaining 28 dead hostages would be handed over later.
In return, Israel will release a large number of Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli Justice Ministry has released a list of 250 Palestinians convicted of murder and other serious crimes who will be released. In addition, 1,700 Palestinians detained in Gaza since October 7, 2023, 22 minors and the bodies of 360 militants will also be returned.
Ms. Bedrosian said the prisoners would be released as soon as the remaining hostages reached Israeli territory.
President Trump is scheduled to arrive in Israel today (October 13) to deliver a speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. He will then travel to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt to attend a summit of world leaders to end the Gaza war.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will also attend the conference.
The joy of the peace deal is overshadowed by the exhaustion after two years of war that has devastated much of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians returning to northern Gaza described widespread devastation. "We couldn't believe the destruction we saw," Rami Mohammad-Ali, 37, said by phone after walking 15km with his son back to Gaza City. "We are happy to be back but at the same time bitter about the destruction," he said, describing seeing body parts strewn on the road.
Aid workers estimate that about 300,000 tents are needed to shelter the 1.5 million displaced Gazans.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that once the hostages are returned, the army will destroy underground tunnels in Gaza built by Hamas.
