U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday morning to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, an agreement he said had “effectively ended the war” and paved the way for lasting peace in the Middle East.
Trump’s arrival coincided with the entry of a convoy carrying the first group of hostages released by Hamas under the terms of the new peace deal.
He was welcomed on the tarmac by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as a military band played in his honour.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is expected to release the remaining 48 hostages, while Israel will free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, allow increased humanitarian aid into Gaza, and withdraw some troops from key urban areas.
