After two long years, Israelis are celebrating the release of all 20 living hostages from Hamas captivity and US President Donald Trump has visited the Knesset, the nation’s parliament, to declare “the historic dawn of the new Middle East,” after being widely praised for securing a peace deal which still faces major challenges to be fully realised.
“After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families,” he proclaimed
“Twenty-eight more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time,” he added in reference to the planned return of those hostages who didn’t survive.
“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,” the president reflected.
DAY OF MIXED EMOTIONS
It was a day of mixed emotions in Israel, ranging from heartbreak to joy, exhaustion, and relief as the war-weary nation welcomed home the last living hostages from among the 251 souls who were dragged into Gaza by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.
They had survived 737 days in captivity.
At the same time Israel was starting to release about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
On his arrival, President went directly to the Knesset.
Trump wrote in the guest book, “This is my great honour. A great and beautiful day. A new beginning.”
While sitting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said: “The war is over.”
TRUMP GIVES “DEEPEST THANKS TO ALMIGHTY GOD”
In his address to Israel’s lawmakers, he declared: “We gather on a day of profound joy, of soaring hope, of renewed faith.”
“And above all, a day to give our deepest thanks to the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
“The cruelty of October 7th struck to the core of humanity itself.”
“This is not only the end of a war. This is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God.”
“It’s the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region.”
“NEVER FORGET, NEVER AGAIN”
“I believe that so strongly. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” the president predicted.
“The United States of America grieved alongside you, and we mourned for our own citizens who were so viciously taken.”
“To all the families whose lives were forever changed by the atrocities of that day, and to all the people of Israel, please know that America joins you in those two everlasting vows – NEVER FORGET, and NEVER AGAIN, ” he promised to a standing ovation.
President Trump also praised the Israeli prime minister’s patriotism and conceded that “his partnership did so much to make this day possible.”
“He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great,” he said of Mr. Netanyahu.
“A CHANCE TO PUT OLD FEUDS AND BITTER HATREDS BEHIND US”
The president then headed to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to attend a global summit on Gaza’s future with the leaders of nearly three dozen of the world’s most influential nations with many from Europe and the Middle East.
He told them: “We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us.”
He urged them “to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past.”
Egyptian president and co-chair of the summit Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said President Trump’s 20-point proposal represents the “last chance” for peace in the region and reiterated his call for a two-state solution, saying Palestinians have the right to an independent state.
GLOBAL SUMMIT FOCUSES ON REBUILDING GAZA AND MIDEAST PEACE
The summit seeks to support the Trump plan and develop a long-term vision for governing and rebuilding Gaza.
President el-SIssi told President Trump that only the US leader can bring peace to the region.
The Trump proposal holds out the possibility of a Palestinian state, but only after a lengthy transition period in Gaza and a reform process by the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who did not attend the summit, ostensibly because it clashed with a Jewish religious holiday, opposes Palestinian independence.
President Trump made no mention of a two-state solution at the summit.
He and President el-Sissi, joined Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in signing a document that President Trump said would lay the groundwork for Gaza’s future.
The details have not been released.
“THE RELIEF AND THE JOY IS OVERWHELMING”
Back in Israel, people are celebrating the end of the war..
“The relief, the sense of joy, is just overwhelming,” Israeli Human Rights Attorney Arsen Ostrovsky told CBN News.
“We are such a small country here that everyone knows someone you know, either a soldier, a hostage, those who have fought.”
“We know their stories. We know their faces. We know their names. They could be our brother, our sister. father, our son.”
So there’s this incredible connection to all of them.”
REMEMBERING THE LORD’S WORD FOR ISRAEL
CBN News reports many supporters of Israel look to this scripture in the Book of Jeremiah as a picture of what took place on Monday:
Jeremiah 31:16,17
“Thus says the Lord: Refrain your voice from weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
There is hope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.
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