Trump’s insistence produced a ceasefire in Gaza. Now he hopes it will end the war

By Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — When President Donald Trump flies home from the Middle East on Monday, the region fading from view out his windows will undoubtedly be a changed one: the hostages who suffered underground in Gaza the last two years are free, and the bombs that leveled the Strip have stopped falling.

But even the valedictory set-pieces that had been arranged for him in Israel and Egypt could not mask the major uncertainty that still lingers — including the basic question of whether the Israel-Hamas war is, in fact, over.

Trump insists it is, and used a long and winding speech to the Israeli Knesset to praise his counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for having the “guts” to recognize the time was right to end his two-year military operation that followed Hamas’ deadly October 7, 2023, attack.

Netanyahu, however, has recognized no such thing. In fact, the evening before Trump arrived, the Israeli leader made clear the military campaign “wasn’t over” amid persistent threats to Israel’s security. He remains under pressure from far-right members of his coalition government to continue going after Hamas in Gaza.

And after a somewhat puzzling back-and-forth, Netanyahu declined to travel with Trump to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to attend the deal’s official investiture, despite a last-minute, behind-the-scenes attempt by the US president to get him there.

The Israeli leader did affirm in his speech: “I am committed to this peace.” But neither he nor Trump offered many clues about how they would approach the next, more complex, phase of the negotiations.

“The phases are all a little bit mixed in with each other,” Trump said, somewhat vaguely, during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

For Trump, at least, the question of whether the war had reached a permanent end wasn’t up for debate.

“The war is over. The war is over, you understand that?” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after departing from Washington for his trip.

It was a sentiment he repeated once he’d arrived, and a viewpoint he attributed directly to Netanyahu during his remarks to an enthusiastic parliament.

“I just want to congratulate you for having the courage to say, ‘That’s it. We’ve won, and now let’s enjoy our lives,’” he said at one point.

Trump warned that more war would only degrade Netanyahu’s legacy. And he tried to preempt any questions about when the war would end permanently by insisting it already had.

“Israel, with our help, has won all that they can by force of arms. You’ve won. I mean, you’ve won,” he said. “Now it’s time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East. It’s about time you were able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

Trump envisions a transformed Middle East, one where the Abraham Accords he began during his first term that normalized diplomatic ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors are expanded and where historic enmities are finally put to rest.

He spoke repeatedly about trying to bring Iran into the fold. And his diplomats are already at work trying to seize what they view as a narrow window of opportunity to turn the ceasefire arrangement into a broader regional realignment.

“It’s not simply about restoring Gaza. It is about transforming the region,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said alongside Trump in Egypt.

Convincing Arab leaders to both bankroll the rebuilding of Gaza and improve their diplomatic ties with Israel could still be a difficult task. Gulf nations, which Trump said repeatedly this week were eager to use their vast wealth to rebuild the devastated enclave, won’t commit before getting assurances that Israel won’t restart its bombing campaign.

And many leaders — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the most powerful Gulf state — want firm signals that the process underway will result in an eventual Palestinian state.

Those are all matters that will require buy-in from Netanyahu that he’s so far been unwilling to provide, even under pressure from Trump.

“He’s not the easiest guy to deal with,” Trump said of Netanyahu on Monday. “But that’s what makes him great.”

Trump has tried to gloss over some of the differences. But he’s also worked to extend the enormous popularity he enjoys among Israelis onto Netanyahu, who is far less popular for how he’s handled the conflict.

He sought to give the prime minister a boost during his speech by urging Israel’s president to grant him a pardon amid an ongoing corruption trial, a remarkable entry into domestic politics.

“Cigars and champagne — who the hell cares,” Trump exclaimed, a reference to the accusation Netanyahu had received expensive gifts like cigars and champagne from overseas businessmen.

Whether the flattery and political reinforcement shapes how Netanyahu will proceed remains to be seen. Steve Witkoff, the president’s foreign envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, have already begun trying to implement the next phase of the deal.

“We’ll be here quite a bit. That’s at the direction of the president,” Witkoff said in Egypt.

For Trump, however, history was already in the air.

“This is one of the most important days for world peace in 50 years; that’s not an exaggeration,” Rubio said Monday, which drew a dissatisfied response from Trump.

“Only 50?” the president said incredulously.

“Maybe 100,” Rubio allowed.

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