US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the Gaza hostages should be released on Monday or Tuesday and that he hopes to attend a signing ceremony in Egypt and address the Israeli Knesset.
Trump opened a White House cabinet meeting by discussing a deal reached on Wednesday under which the hostages held by Hamas militants are to be released in the first phase of a broader Gaza plan. He said he believed it would lead to “lasting peace.”Trump’s public messaging and behind-the-scenes diplomacy on Friday brought Israel and Hamas closer than ever to ending a war that began almost exactly two years ago with Hamas’ attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.
