Trump, In Egypt, Highlights Collective Effort To End War In Gaza

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — President Donald Trump said “it was an incredible day” as he signed a peace agreement in Egypt alongside key players in the deal that brings to an end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas.

The peace agreement, which Trump insisted would hold, has the potential to reshape the Middle East and provide the president with what could be his most significant foreign policy accomplishment.

The signing ceremony was his second celebratory event of the day, following a triumphal speech at the Knesset, Israel’s legislature. The tone in Sharm el-Sheikh was similarly exultant to the president’s remarks hours earlier in Jerusalem.

“I’ve heard for years this is the biggest deal that’ll never happen," Trump said during the signing ceremony. "For years, long before I ran for office, that this, the Middle East, it’s the biggest, most complicated deal, and also it’s the place that could lead to tremendous problems, like World War III. They always talked about World War III would start in the Middle East — and that’s not going to happen.”

The peace ceremony, part of a quick trip to the Middle East, provided a chance for Arab and Muslim leaders including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to bask in their success at bringing Israel and Hamas to a deal.

European leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were also in attendance. Trump said 35 foreign leaders were invited, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who declined, citing the timing of the Jewish holidays.

Though a mostly joyous affair, the gathering in Egypt foreshadowed some of the hurdles ahead in ensuring the peace plan is successfully implemented. Twenty hostages were released Monday morning, and Israel has begun its withdrawal but the future of Hamas and Gaza’s governance remain to be decided.

“We’re dug in. We’ll be here quite a bit,” special envoy Steve Witkoff said of the role that he and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will play in ensuring the fragile peace holds.

Witkoff and Kushner took on major roles bringing together key players. Both have longstanding relationships with Israel and Arab nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Trump’s close ties to Erdoğan was also crucial in putting those influential regional leaders on the same page.

The peace gathering in Egypt offered a showcase of the alliance that Trump helped organize to pressure Hamas to agree to his 20-point plan.

During his campaign, Trump promised to swiftly end the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as the war in Ukraine. But after taking office, he found the path to peace more difficult than he had imagined.

He had long touted his relationship with Netanyahu and his support for Israel. But as the images from Gaza became more devastating, he lost patience with Netanyahu and the prolonged conflict.

“This is clearly, in my mind, I think in the mind of everyone in this room, probably one of the most important days for world peace in 50 years,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters before the ceremony. “That’s not an exaggeration.”