In what is described as a landmark achievement for Donald Trump, a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas was signed, just days after the two-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack.
The historic release of the Israeli hostages who were still alive in Gaza and the simultaneous release of more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel were only part of the first step of Trump’s 20-point plan to establish peace in the region.
Since returning to the presidency, Trump had worked and pressed to secure a peace agreement in this war. Even when he thought he had achieved something, an attack would come from one side or another, but in the end he succeeded in securing that there is at least a signed agreement now.
“Today the sky is calm, the weapons are silent, the sirens fall silent and the sun rises over a Holy Land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, if God wills, in peace for all eternity,” declared Trump.
For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, also spoke of this achievement for his country.
And he described it as “a proposal that has the backing of virtually everyone in the world, a proposal that brings all of our hostages home, a proposal that ends the war by achieving all of our objectives, a proposal that opens the door to a historic expansion of peace in our region and beyond.”
Despite the jubilation, some Middle East experts say the process to end this two-year conflict has barely begun. A swath of Gaza remains destroyed and thousands of dead, as well as the bodies of hostages killed amid the fighting that families are demanding.
