WORLD

Trump declares Gaza war ‘over’ ahead hostage release, peace summit

Agence France-Presse · Oct 13, 2025, 10:35 AM

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 6, 2024. Incoming US president Donald Trump on December 21, 2024 slammed what he called unfair fees for US ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand control of the waterway be returned to Washington. Jim WATSON / AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump declared the war in Gaza “over” Sunday as he headed to Israel and Egypt for a high-level peace summit, with Hamas expected to release the remaining hostages held since its October 2023 cross-border attack.

Under Trump’s 20-point peace roadmap, Israel is set to release around 2,000 Palestinian detainees in exchange. Talks continued late Sunday, with Hamas demanding the inclusion of seven senior Palestinian leaders in the deal.

Trump, calling the trip “very special,” is set to meet Israeli officials and address the Knesset before co-chairing a summit in Egypt alongside President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and army officials declared victory over Hamas, the militant group said it had completed preparations for the hostage release — but signaled it would not disarm or participate in post-war governance.

The two-year conflict, sparked by the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,219 people in Israel, has left over 67,000 dead in Gaza, according to local health authorities.

The multinational peace plan calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of a U.S.-led international force in Gaza.