Trump eyes Egypt trip for Gaza ceasefire signing as deal paves way for hostage release…reports Asian Lite News
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he intends to travel to Egypt for the formal signing of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, declaring that the long-sought deal had “ended the war in Gaza” and would bring about the release of hostages as early as Monday or Tuesday.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump described the agreement as a turning point for the Middle East, suggesting it could open the door to wider peace across the region. “We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday,” Trump said, seated alongside his senior cabinet officials.
The president cautioned, however, that the recovery of those killed in captivity would remain an unresolved and painful challenge. “The bodies of some of the dead hostages,” he said, “would be hard to find.”
The announcement followed his unveiling on Wednesday of the first phase of what the administration has billed as a landmark peace deal. Trump had already indicated that he was planning a trip to the Middle East, but on Thursday he confirmed that discussions were under way for a possible stop in Egypt to coincide with the signing ceremony.
“I’m going to try and make a trip over. We’re going to try and get over there, and we’re working on the timing, the exact timing,” Trump said. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi earlier stated that he had invited the US leader to take part in what he described as a “celebration to be held in Egypt” to mark the ceasefire.
The agreement, brokered after months of negotiations involving Israel, Hamas, and regional mediators, is being seen as one of Trump’s most significant foreign policy achievements.
Alongside the planned Egypt stop, Trump revealed he had also been invited to Israel, where he may deliver an address to the country’s parliament. “They asked me to speak at the Knesset and… I’ve agreed to, if they would like me to, I will do it,” Trump said. He then incorrectly claimed that no US president had ever addressed the Knesset. In fact, presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter all spoke before Israel’s parliament in previous decades, according to the Knesset’s official records.
The remarks underscored the celebratory atmosphere in the White House, where cabinet officials publicly praised the president for securing the ceasefire and the associated commitments on hostage releases.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was central to the negotiations, singled out Trump’s direct intervention with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Arab leaders as decisive in reaching the deal. On Wednesday, Rubio had handed Trump a handwritten note at a public event confirming that the breakthrough was imminent.
“Frankly, I don’t know of any American president in the modern era that could have made this possible,” Rubio said. He went on to suggest that the full story of the diplomatic push might only emerge later. “One day, perhaps the entire story will be told. The president had some extraordinary phone calls and meetings that required a high degree of intensity and commitment and made this happen.”
While Trump outlined the broad strokes of the next phase of the deal, many details remain unclear. He referred vaguely to “disarming” and “pullbacks,” which appeared to signal Israeli demands that Hamas lay down its weapons alongside Palestinian calls for Israeli troop withdrawals. He also hinted at an international role in rebuilding Gaza, saying the territory would be “slowly redone” with financial assistance from Arab states. “There are countries with tremendous wealth,” Trump added, noting that they may also contribute to peacekeeping efforts.
One subject Trump declined to touch on was his oft-stated desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize. He has previously argued that his administration’s diplomatic breakthroughs, particularly in the Middle East, deserved recognition from the Nobel committee. But on Thursday he left the matter unmentioned, instead allowing his cabinet to amplify his achievement.
The ceasefire agreement comes after months of devastating conflict in Gaza, mounting civilian casualties, and intensifying international pressure on both Israel and Hamas to halt hostilities. While many obstacles remain — including the enforcement of disarmament provisions and the political future of Gaza — the White House presented the deal as a definitive break from the cycle of violence.
For Trump, the diplomatic win comes at a politically significant moment as he seeks to highlight foreign policy successes during a volatile election season. The prospect of him appearing alongside regional leaders in Cairo and Jerusalem would mark a highly symbolic step, reinforcing his role at the centre of the negotiations.
Whether the ceasefire holds, and whether the second phase of the agreement will address the deeper issues of Gaza’s governance and security, will determine if the deal becomes a historic milestone or a temporary pause in conflict.
For now, Trump and his team are treating the development as a transformative achievement. As Rubio put it, “The president made this happen.”
