US President Donald Trump on Friday expressed optimism for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and said that after the hostage release, Gaza will be rebuilt, citing anticipated financing from wealthy Arab neighbors, and will set a board of peace.Answering the question over the Israel-Hamas deal, where key members signed the “first phase” on Wednesday, Trump said that he will soon go to Israel, will speak at the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) and Then he will go to Egypt. “Gaza is going to be rebuilt. And you have some very wealthy countries, as you know, over there, and it would take a small fraction of their. Their wealth to do that, but. And I think they want to do it. And we’re also. We’re also setting up, as you know, a board of peace. It’s called the Board of Peace. I don’t know if that’s the final name, but the word peace is definitely in there. And they asked me if I chair it. We’ll make sure things go well,” Trump said. When asked abouthow confident is he about the ceasefire that will hold, Trump answered: “I think it will hold. Yeah. I think it will hold. They’re all tired of the fighting. Don’t Forget, you had October 7th, which was a horrible day, 1,200 people killed, but Hamas has lost 58,000 people. That’s big retribution. That’s big retribution. People understand that. So, no, I think they’re all tired of fighting. And this really gives the whole Middle East. This is beyond Gaza. Gaza is very important, but this is beyond Gaza. This is peace in the Middle East. And it is a beautiful thing.”He further said that the Gaza peace deal was a great plan for everybody, for Arabs, for Muslims, for everybody, for the world.“Well, he (Israeli PM Netanyahu) wanted it. You know, it’s been a long time. He’s been fighting a long time. He’s been fighting hard. He wanted it. It’s a great deal for Israel, but it’s a great deal for everybody, for Arabs, for Muslims, for everybody, for the world. And as you know, on Monday, the hostages come back. They’re getting them now. I mean, they’re getting them now. They’re in some pretty rough places under earth. They’re in some pretty rough places where only a few people know where they are in some cases. So they’re getting them,” Trump said. “And they’re also getting the bodies, approximately 28 bodies. And some of those bodies are being unearthed right now as we speak. I mean, they’re working on it right now as we speak. It’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy. No, he was very happy with it. And I can tell you that I saw Israel dancing in the streets, but they were dancing in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and UAE and many, many countries. I saw Egypt. They were dancing. I’ll be going to Israel. I’ll be speaking at the Knesset, I think, early on, and then I’m also going to Egypt. They were terrific, but all of the countries were great. Indonesia was great. Jordan was great. They were all great. Everybody, everybody wants this deal to happen,” he added. This statement came as the ceasefire came into effect after Israeli forces were pulled back to an agreed position within the territory – though troops still occupy half of the Strip.The tentative agreement comes after months of stalled negotiations. The broader ceasefire plan faces unresolved questions, including Hamas’ disarmament and governance of Gaza. The conflict, which began with Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Gaza’s health ministry reports more than 67,000 Palestinians killed and nearly 170,000 wounded, with women and children accounting for roughly half the deaths.
