President Donald Trump called for “the historic dawn of a new Middle East” in an address to the Israeli parliament, as he visits the region to celebrate a deal halting the war in Gaza and securing the release of prisoners held by Hamas.

“This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope,” Trump said Monday in remarks from the Knesset.

Trump used the address to call on Israel to “translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East” while pushing Gazans to focus on “restoring the fundamentals of stability, safety, dignity, and economic development, so they can finally have the better life their children really do deserve.”

The president arrived early Monday in Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the families of hostages captured in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. After the Israel stop, Trump is slated to travel to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where he is expected to meet with leaders from across the world to celebrate the deal that could bring an end to a devastating two-year war that destroyed much of Gaza and inflamed tensions across the region.

Trump has painted the agreement as a historic accomplishment that will usher in a new era of stability and prosperity, but the pact is certain to be tested in the coming days and weeks as both sides regroup and anger over the devastation from the conflict lingers. Some of the divisions even within Israel were apparent during Trump’s address, as two left-wing MPs were expelled over protests in the chamber.

Trump devoted a significant portion of his speech to urging cooperation between historic rivals.

“All across the Middle East, the forces of chaos, terror and ruin that have plagued the region for decades now stand weakened, isolated and totally defeated,” Trump said. “A new coalition of proud and responsible nations is emerging.”

That appeal included an address to Iran specifically, with Trump suggesting it would be “great” to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Islamic republic.

“Would you be happy with that? Wouldn’t it be nice?” Trump said, adding that he thought an accord would be “easy.”

Under the agreement, Hamas released Monday the 20 last living hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack, and is expected to turn over the remains of about two dozen who died in captivity. Israel, in turn, will pull back troops to an agreed upon line and release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The breakthrough represents the culmination of intense diplomatic efforts spearheaded by the U.S. with the assistance of mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey. Trump’s Monday address came two weeks after he publicly unveiled the broad peace plan alongside Netanyahu at the White House.

Netanyahu, speaking ahead of Trump, said the deal “opens the door to an historic expansion of peace in our region, and beyond.”

“You are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace. And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace,” Netanyahu said.

‘Done the impossible’

For Trump, the agreement — if it sticks — is poised to hand him a landmark foreign policy achievement, even as another high-profile second-term effort to end Russia’s war on Ukraine remains unfulfilled.

The president and his allies have seized on the ceasefire to bolster Trump’s efforts to present himself as a consummate dealmaker and as a “peace president” — as well as his bid to secure a Nobel Peace Prize. While Trump failed to sway the committee ahead of its decision last week, Netanyahu said Monday he had nominated Trump to become the first non-native recipient of the Israel Prize, the country’s highest cultural honor.

“As to that other prize, just a question of time, you’ll get it — but I want you to get the Israel Prize, our highest award to our greatest friend,” Netanyahu said.

Trump has also envisioned using the agreement as a springboard to expand the Abraham Accords he brokered in his first term, agreements normalizing ties between Israel and certain Arab states.

“After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today, the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace,” Trump said.

Still, while Trump has cast the deal as the potential foundation for a broader regional peace and expressed optimism, numerous obstacles still remain and it is unclear if the ceasefire will hold. Hamas has yet to agree to terms calling for the group, which is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union, to disarm and forgo any role in the future governance of Gaza — key demands of Netanyahu.

There are also questions about how the next steps of the complex peace plan would be implemented, including the stabilization force to patrol Gaza and how quickly Israeli forces will withdraw. Rebuilding Gaza also remains a daunting challenge with the territory ravaged and most of its more than 2 million population displaced.

The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 250 kidnappings. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. For Netanyahu’s government, the aim was to eliminate Hamas as a force and ensure the group disarmed and removed from Gaza.

‘Glory and heartache’

But Israel’s pursuit of the war and the civilian casualties in Gaza sparked an international outcry. A U.N.-commissioned report found Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and several major Western nations — Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal — recognized a Palestinian state and increased pressure on Israel to ease the humanitarian crisis. Trump, a stalwart ally of Netanyahu, criticized him publicly after an Israeli strike on Qatar, a U.S. ally, aimed at killing Hamas leaders.

The agreement was formalized after days of intensive negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh, where Israeli and Hamas representatives through mediators hammered out the final details. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff played critical roles in the negotiations.

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