In a speech to Israel’s parliament on the day the country’s 20 live hostages were freed as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal he helped negotiate, President Donald Trump told the Knesset: “This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
“This long, difficult war is over,” Trump said.
In scathing comments apparently directed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has not been as explicit, Trump said: “Israel, with our help, has won everything it could by force of arms. You have won,” he said. “Now is the time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East. It is time for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor.”
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,” Trump said.
“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 said. “A land and a region that will live. God willing, in peace for all eternity.”
President Donald Trump addresses the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on October 13, 2025 in Jerusalem.
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Trump’s speech was briefly interrupted when Ayman Udah, an Arab-Israeli from Israel’s Hadash party, and his colleague, Ofir Kassif, an Israeli Jew, shouted and held up a banner that read “genocide.” They were quickly expelled from parliament.
“That was very efficient,” Trump said after the interruption as he returned to his remarks.
Trump received several standing ovations 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 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.
Trump directly criticized his predecessors in the Oval Office, former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, accusing them of “hatred of Israel” and saying he was proud to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear deal negotiated during the Obama administration.
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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The Israeli prime minister said that when Trump was elected, “overnight, everything changed.”
“Mr. President, we welcome you here today to thank you for your fundamental leadership and for presenting a proposal that won the support of almost the entire world, a proposal that brings all of our hostages home, a proposal that ends the war by achieving all of our objectives, a proposal that opens the door to a historic expansion of peace in our region and beyond our region,” Netanyahu said. “Mr. President, you are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace. And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace.”
President Donald Trump listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he addresses the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025.
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As Trump smiled, Netanyahu announced that he had submitted Trump’s nomination to be the first non-Israeli to receive the Israel Prize, Israel’s highest award. Earlier, the speaker of Israel’s parliament said he would nominate Trump for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
“As for the other prize, just a question time, they will get it,” Netanyahu said.
In a surprise moment, Trump called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, prompting lengthy applause from the audience in parliament. Netanyahu is currently on trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. in multiple cases.
“That wasn’t in the speech, as you probably know, but I happen to like this gentleman here and he seems to make a lot of sense,” Trump said.
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 Netanyahu meeting with the hostages’ families before their speech.
After the speech, Trump was headed to an international “peace summit” in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where he would sign an agreement on the future of Gaza with more than 20 leaders from around the world.
Netanyahu will not attend the summit, despite being invited by Trump.
“The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his invitation but said he would not be able to participate due to the proximity of the holiday,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement. “The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his efforts to widen the circle of peace: peace through strength.”
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.
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Trump arrived early Monday at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, where he was received by Netanyahu and 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.
