WASHINGTON, Oct 14 – U.S. President Donald Trump has officially declared the end of the long and devastating Israel-Hamas war, marking what he described as a “new dawn” for peace in the Middle East. Speaking before the Israeli parliament on Monday, Trump announced that the skies above the region were finally calm, the gunfire had stopped, and the sirens that had haunted Israeli and Palestinian communities for years were now silent.
He marked the occasion as a historic turning point, addressing lawmakers by saying, “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, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity.”
His declaration followed the release of the remaining living Israeli hostages from Gaza and Israel’s simultaneous freeing of more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. The exchange is part of the first step in Trump’s ambitious 20-point plan aimed at restoring long-term peace and rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
Trump’s Vision for a “New Era of Faith and Hope”
Trump described the peace agreement as more than a ceasefire, framing it as the start of what he called “an age of faith, hope, and harmony.” He told Israeli lawmakers that it marked “the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of an age of faith and hope and of God.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though cautious in his statements, acknowledged the historic significance of the moment. “Mr. President, today we welcome you here to thank you for your pivotal leadership in putting forward a proposal that got the backing of almost the entire world,” Netanyahu said. He emphasized his commitment to ensuring that the peace plan holds, adding that both nations must work together to preserve this fragile truce.
Following his visit to Israel, Trump traveled to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where he co-chaired a peace summit alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. There, the official signing of the ceasefire agreement took place in the presence of more than 20 world leaders.
El-Sisi praised Trump for brokering an accord that, he said, “ushers in a new era of peace and stability in the Middle East.” The Egyptian leader called the deal “a glimpse of hope that ends an agonizing chapter in human history,” reflecting the optimism shared by many regional leaders at the summit.
Despite the celebratory atmosphere, several Middle East analysts and former diplomats have cautioned that the peace process is far from complete. They argue that the initial steps, including prisoner releases and ceasefire commitments, are only the foundation for a much longer and more complicated journey toward lasting peace.
Experts Warn of Tough Challenges Ahead
According to diplomatic experts, the toughest phases of Trump’s 20-point peace plan are yet to come. The most pressing issues include the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the disarmament and demobilization of Hamas, and the eventual transition of Gaza’s governance to an international authority supervised by the United States and its Arab allies.
One former American ambassador to Saudi Arabia explained that while the celebrations over the release of hostages and prisoners are justified, the reality is that “peace” has not yet been achieved. “It’s not peace yet,” he said. “There’s a lot of work ahead, including implementing many of the complex steps outlined in the plan.”
Another former National Security Council official specializing in counterterrorism highlighted that demilitarizing Hamas remains a major challenge. He described the process as “a monumental task that will take time and oversight.” Trump’s proposal reportedly allows Hamas to function as a provisional security force in Gaza for a short period, an arrangement that has already stirred debate among observers.
During his flight to the Middle East, Trump told reporters that Hamas had been granted permission “for a period of time” to act as a local police body to maintain order. “They want to stop the problems, and they’ve been open about it,” Trump said, noting that the group had suffered heavy losses during the conflict. He emphasized that strict supervision would be necessary to prevent a resurgence of violence or crime in the devastated region.
Analysts compared the situation to previous global examples where militant groups laid down arms after years of conflict, such as the Irish Republican Army in the late 1990s and Colombia’s FARC movement in 2016. They stressed the importance of monitoring the demobilization process to ensure that former fighters no longer have access to weapons or operational networks.
However, the fragility of the current truce was underscored on Monday when a group representing families of Israeli hostages accused Hamas of breaching the agreement by returning only four bodies of hostages who died in captivity, rather than all 28 as expected. The group demanded immediate action from Israeli authorities and mediators to address the situation, warning that any violation could jeopardize the peace process.
A senior fellow at a Washington-based policy institute noted that the international community is unlikely to tolerate a return to war. He pointed out that global sentiment has shifted toward supporting diplomatic resolution rather than renewed military action.
A defense analyst and former Pentagon official also weighed in, saying that the success of Trump’s plan depends entirely on mutual compliance. “The success of this agreement depends entirely on both parties staying true to the commitments they’ve made,” he said. “If either side fails, the entire framework could collapse.”
Despite the uncertainty, Trump expressed confidence in the durability of the agreement during his speech in Egypt. “This took 3,000 years to get to this point,” he said, addressing world leaders at the summit. “Can you believe it? And it’s going to hold up too. It’s going to hold up.”