In a speech to Israel’s parliament on the day the country’s 20 living hostages were freed as part of a ceasefire deal he helped negotiate, President Donald Trump was expected to tell the Knesset: “This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” according to excerpts released by the White House.
In a sign of the warm welcome he was receiving, many in the audience wore MAGA-style hats that read “Trump, the Peace President.”
“We gather on a day of deep joy, of great hope, of renewed faith and, above all, a day to give our deepest gratitude to the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” he was expected to say.
Trump received a lengthy ovation in the Knesset, where he was introduced by the speaker of Israel’s parliament as the “best friend Israel has ever had” in the White House, a sentiment echoed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“No American president has ever done more for Israel and, as I said in Washington, it’s not even close. It’s really no match,” Netanyahu said.
President Donald Trump reacts as he receives a standing ovation before speaking in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on October 13, 2025.
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“After so many years of relentless war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are silent, and the sun is rising in a Holy Land that is finally at peace,” Trump will say, according to the excerpts.
Trump’s speech in the Knesset was attended by his daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, the latter involved in the negotiations, as well as the White House special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.
Ivanka Trump arrives as President Donald Trump will address the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on October 13, 2025 in Jerusalem.
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The White House released a short video of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with the hostages’ families before his speech.
After the speech, he headed to an international “peace summit” in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where he would sign an agreement with more than 20 leaders from around the world.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog greet US President Donald Trump upon his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport outside Lod, near Tel Aviv, on October 13, 2025.
Saúl Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Trump arrived early Monday at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, where he was greeted by Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.
The last 20 live hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023 were returned to Israel on Monday, Israeli officials said, in the first phase of a deal that also called for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.
