President Donald Trump marked what he called a “very special day” on Friday, delivering brief remarks from the Oval Office after reports emerged that Hamas had agreed to release all remaining Israeli hostages captured during the October 7 attacks, under a new framework deal tied to his Gaza peace initiative.
The news broke Friday afternoon, prompting immediate reaction from Washington, Jerusalem, and across the region. According to the announcement, Hamas agreed in principle to release every Israeli hostage still held in Gaza, contingent on conditions outlined in the Trump-brokered plan.
Shortly after the statement from Hamas was made public, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to share his initial reaction. “Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East.”
Later that evening, Trump appeared on camera from the Oval Office, expressing gratitude to those who played a role in facilitating the deal. He said he was optimistic that the long-awaited reunion between the hostages and their families was finally within reach. The president described the development as a significant milestone toward broader stability in the region and reiterated his vision of achieving a “lasting peace” that would bring security both to Israel and its neighbors.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I want to thank the countries that helped me put this together. Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and so many others. So many people fought so hard.
This is a big day! We’ll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down in concrete. Very importantly, I look forward to having the hostages come home to their parents and having some of the hostages, unfortunately, you know the condition they’re in, come home likewise to their parents. Because their parents wanted them just as much as though that young man or young woman were alive.
So I just want to let you know that this is a very special day! Maybe unprecedented, in many ways it is unprecedented.
But thank you all and thank you all to those great countries that helped. We were given a tremendous amount of help.
Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East. And we’re very close to achieving that.
Thank you all and everybody will be treated fairly.
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{Matzav.com}
