Gaza To Be ‘Slowly Redone’: Trump Expects ‘Lasting Peace’, Hostage Release Next Week; Links Iran To Breakthrough
As Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a Gaza peace plan, US President Donald Trump said that the US “ended the war in Gaza”, hailing the development as a “momentous breakthrough” that he hopes will usher in a “lasting, hopefully everlasting, peace.”
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in the White House, Trump said, “October 7 was terrible, but Hamas probably lost about 70,000 people, but this whole thing had to stop. Gaza is to be redone. You have tremendous wealth in that part of the world by certain countries… you will be seeing some tremendous countries stepping up, putting up a lot of money, and taking care of things.”
Trump Credits Strike On Iran For Paving Way To Peace In Gaza
The US President linked the peace process to earlier military actions, asserting that the strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June was a turning point. “Just everything came together, I think the attack was very important on Iran, because if that hadn’t happened, then probably by now there would have been nuclear weapons… but now Iran wants to work on peace. We’ll work with Iran,” Trump said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
He went on to thank the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Indonesia, adding, “I express my gratitude to leaders of Qatar, Egypt, Turkey for helping us reach this special day… President Erdogan was involved, they’ve been amazing, Indonesia was amazing.”
Trump also revealed that Iran had expressed support for the peace deal, stating, “We’d like to build their country too.”
Gaza to be ‘slowly redone’, says Trump
According to the BBC, Trump told his cabinet that Gaza would be “slowly redone” by wealthy nations in the region. “What they [those countries] make will do wonders for Gaza. There’s tremendous spirit like I haven’t seen,” he said, while describing the civilian death toll in Gaza as “big retribution” for the 7 October attacks.
Trump confirmed that the release of hostages was expected soon. “The remaining hostages should be released on Monday or Tuesday. Getting them is a complicated process… they are in places you don’t want to be,” he said. He added that he would travel to Egypt for an official signing ceremony, though a visit to Gaza has been reportedly ruled out.
BBC further reported that Trump would also make a stop in Israel, with trip details remaining fluid.
Rubio, Saar hail ‘historic’ peace milestone
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Trump’s leadership, saying at the meeting that the president’s rapport with global leaders made the peace deal possible. “It will go down as a historic moment in the history of our country and something that our country should be very proud of — that we have a President that’s committed to not just peace, but to the human aspect of reuniting these families,” he said, drawing applause from cabinet members.
Rubio also noted that Trump’s September meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders at the UN General Assembly had helped form a coalition backing the plan. “The result… is that the hostages will emerge from the darkness into the light,” he added.
Israeli Foreign Minister On Ceasefire; Cabinet Meeting To Approve Deal Delayed
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking on Fox News, confirmed that a ceasefire would begin “immediately after” the Israeli cabinet approves the deal. “I believe that should bring the end to this war,” he said.
Public broadcaster Kan reported that Israel’s cabinet meeting to approve the Gaza ceasefire had been delayed to 8 PM local time.
Meanwhile, Trump reiterated his claim the US had “settled seven wars, or major conflicts, but wars,” adding, “This is number eight. The one that I thought would be maybe the quickest of all would be Russia-Ukraine. I think that’s going to happen, too.”
He remarked, “At some point, that whole thing has to stop. We’re going to see to it.”
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