Videos/Pics: Israeli hostages released, Trump touts 'new beginning' in Middle East

President Donald Trump described Monday as a “new beginning” in the Middle East after the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages were released by Hamas from captivity in Gaza as part of the peace deal between Israel and Hamas. 

Trump signed a guest book at the Knesset after arriving in Israel on Monday morning to celebrate the release of the Israeli hostages and a historic peace summit in Egypt, according to Fox News. The president wrote, “This is my great honor — a great and beautiful day. A new beginning.”

“After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families,” Trump said in an address to the Israeli Parliament on Monday. “Twenty-eight more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time. And 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.”

According to Fox News, in addition to the 20 living Israeli hostages being released by Hamas on Monday, Israel started the release of roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first phase of a peace agreement in the Middle East coordinated by the Trump administration. 

“This is not only the end of a war. This is the end of a age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God,” Trump said. “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.”

“This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” Trump added.

During Monday’s speech in Israel, Trump reflected on the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, describing October 7, 2023, as one of the “most evil and heinous desecrations of innocent life the world has ever seen.” The president reaffirmed America’s support of Israel in honoring the “two everlasting vows” to “never forget” and “never again.”

According to Fox News, Trump said the ceasefire with Hamas is a “very exciting time” not only for Israel, but also for the whole Middle East region.

Pictures shared on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu show Trump and the Israeli prime minister meeting with the Israeli hostages, the families of the Israeli hostages, and wounded members of the Israeli Defense Forces.

In a caption to the photos, Netanyahu wrote, “President Trump and I met in the Knesset with families of kidnapped-killed, returning kidnapped, IDF wounded, victims of terror attacks from October 7, and bereaved families.”