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President Donald Trump credited “luck” and “talent” for playing a role in getting a peace deal between Israel and Hamas after months of deadlock.
“The whole world came together, to be honest. So many countries that you wouldn’t have even thought of, they came together. The world has come together around this deal,” he said Wednesday in an exclusive interview on “Hannity” after announcing a deal that could see the end of the two-year-long war in the Middle East.
Trump added that the remaining hostages could be released as early as Monday.
BEFORE AND AFTER IMAGES SHOW DEVASTATING DESTRUCTION IN GAZA
Nearly 50 hostages remain in Gaza — 20 of whom are believed to be alive — according to figures compiled by Fox News.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X that he would convene his government Thursday to formally approve the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal.
Trump thanked Qatar, Egypt and Turkey for helping mediate the agreement, part of his 20-point peace plan.
The announcement came after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Wednesday to join negotiations to end the two-year-old war and free the remaining hostages.
“So many countries that you wouldn’t have thought of have wired their best wishes and their commitment to do whatever is necessary,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“The countries surrounding have all signed. I mean, they’re all signed up and — it’s been really an amazing period of time and so great for Israel, so great for Muslims, for the Arab countries, and so great for this country, for the United States of America, and that we could be involved in, you know, making a deal like this happen because it was, you know — many years they talked about peace in the Middle East. This is more than Gaza, this is peace in the Middle East and it’s an incredible thing.”
Sources told The Associated Press that Hamas plans to release all 20 living hostages this weekend and the Israeli military will begin withdrawing from most of Gaza.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has advocated for the release of all hostages since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in southern Israel, welcomed the news of the agreement.
“The Israeli government must convene immediately to approve the agreement. Any delay could exact a heavy toll on the hostages and soldiers,” the group wrote on X. “There are 48 hostages held by Hamas. Our moral and national obligation is to bring them all home — both the living and the deceased. Their return is essential to the healing and recovery of Israeli society as a whole. We will not rest until the last hostage comes home.”
Israel marked two years since the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust Tuesday amid global isolation and mounting pressure to end its ongoing war against Hamas.
ISRAEL SEIZES ANOTHER GAZA FLOTILLA
The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health — which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants — says more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in the two-year war, according to Reuters.
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