In a historic Knesset address, the U.S. president hails a fragile truce as the “start of a new era,” calls on Israel’s president to pardon Netanyahu, and heads to an Egypt peace summit as the last living hostages are freed
JERUSALEM/CAIRO | President Donald Trump told Israeli lawmakers that Israel has “won all it can by force of arms” and should now turn battlefield gains into a durable peace, hours before flying to Egypt for a summit on Gaza’s future. In the same Knesset speech, Trump stunned observers by urging Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who remains on trial for corruption—drawing loud ovations from much of the chamber.
The push comes as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire has produced its most significant breakthrough to date: the release of the last living Israeli hostages and a mass prisoner exchange, as humanitarian aid begins to surge into Gaza. Trump is expected to press Arab and European leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh to cement the truce’s first phase and build a pathway to reconstruction and regional de-escalation.
Trump’s remarks framed the moment as an inflection point after two years of war with Hamas and clashes involving Hezbollah and Iran. He promised U.S. support for Gaza’s rebuilding, while urging Palestinians to reject violence, and he cast the truce as a stepping stone toward a broader normalization push. Israeli and Palestinian streets showed rare scenes of relief during the exchanges, though aid groups warned of a race against time to address Gaza’s devastation.
