On October 13, 2025, the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem became the stage for a spectacle that few in attendance—or watching from afar—will soon forget. United States President Donald Trump, welcomed with the grand title of “the president of peace,” addressed a chamber overflowing with lawmakers, dignitaries, and a palpable sense of historic occasion. Applause echoed, lawmakers rose to their feet time and again, and the air was thick with both celebration and relief. It was a day that marked not only the return of 20 living Israeli hostages, freed by Hamas just hours earlier, but also the ostensible end of a war that had gripped the region for two long, brutal years.
Inside the Knesset, the mood was almost jubilant. According to Le Monde, lawmakers stood repeatedly, sometimes as many as 20 times, to pay tribute to the American president, the Israeli military, and the peace negotiators who had worked behind the scenes. The chamber, more accustomed to fierce debate and political confrontation, was united in rare, overwhelming collective emotion. The return of the hostages, after years of anguish and uncertainty, brought tears and cheers in equal measure. For many, it was the first time since the security collapse of October 7, 2023—and the harrowing attacks by Hamas on Israeli soil—that the future seemed bright and the idea of peace tangible.
President Trump’s speech, true to form, was a blend of bravado, self-congratulation, and pointed political messaging. As Al Jazeera reported, Trump’s remarks were met with laughter, more applause, and a seemingly endless string of standing ovations. At one point, a lone protester interrupted the proceedings, only to be swiftly escorted out, prompting Trump to quip, “That was very efficient,” a comment that drew further cheers from the crowd.
Trump did not shy away from controversial topics. He openly praised Israel for its military campaign in Gaza, declaring, “You’ve won,” and congratulating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a “great job.” He boasted about American military support, saying, “We make the best weapons in the world, and we’ve given a lot to Israel, … and you used them well.” These remarks, while warmly received in the chamber, were sure to provoke outrage elsewhere, as the war in Gaza had resulted in staggering casualties. According to Al Jazeera, over the past two years, more than 67,000 Palestinians had been officially killed, with some scholars estimating the true number could be as high as 680,000.
Trump’s speech touched on his self-proclaimed achievements in the region, including his claims of ending what he called the “3,000 YEAR CATASTROPHE” and resolving “seven wars” in seven months—figures that, as some observers noted, seemed to materialize more from political imagination than from the record of recent history. Still, the president’s confidence was unshakable. “When you’re a great president, you don’t have to explain yourself,” he declared, drawing yet another round of applause.
Much of Trump’s address was devoted to praising his own team, including US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was present despite holding no official role in the current administration. Kushner, a key architect of the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term, received special mention. Trump reminisced about the normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, emphasizing the financial windfall for the signatories. “The four existing signatories have already made a lot of money being members,” he said, underscoring the business benefits of peace, or at least normalization, in the region.
But Trump’s vision for postwar Gaza was perhaps the most striking—and contentious—part of his message. He announced the creation of a so-called “Board of Peace,” which would oversee the territory. This board, he said, would be presided over by the US president himself. Trump hailed the name as “beautiful,” framing the move as a necessary step for Palestinians to “turn from the path of terror and violence.” Critics, however, saw it as a thinly veiled form of colonial oversight, one that would further entrench Palestinian dispossession rather than pave the way for genuine self-determination.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who took the podium before Trump, was effusive in his gratitude. He thanked the American president for his “pivotal leadership” in bringing the war to an end—a war, he admitted, he had not wanted to end. Netanyahu went even further, describing Trump as “the greatest friend that the State of Israel has ever had in the White House.” In a gesture loaded with symbolism, Netanyahu nominated Trump as the first non-Israeli nominee for the prestigious Israel Prize and assured him that a Nobel Prize would soon follow.
For the families of the freed hostages, the day was one of unimaginable relief. The sight of loved ones reunited after years of captivity was a powerful counterpoint to the devastation and loss that had defined the previous two years. As Le Monde described it, the “day after” the war suddenly seemed possible—a future no longer defined by fear and mourning, but by hope, however fragile.
Yet, the celebrations in Jerusalem could not erase the grim realities that lingered just beyond the city’s walls. The war in Gaza had left deep scars: tens of thousands dead, entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble, and a humanitarian crisis that would take years—if not decades—to heal. The announcement of the Board of Peace and the continued sidelining of the Palestinian issue in regional diplomacy suggested that the path ahead would be anything but straightforward.
Throughout the day, the contrast between the exuberance inside the Knesset and the suffering in Gaza was stark. Trump’s repeated assertions of victory and peace were, for many outside the chamber, a bitter reminder of the costs of conflict and the complexities of reconciliation. The normalization deals celebrated by Trump and his allies, while economically beneficial for some, had done little to address the underlying grievances that fueled the cycle of violence.
Still, for Israel, October 13, 2025, will be remembered as a turning point—a day when the burden of war momentarily lifted and the prospect of peace, however contested, came into view. As the applause faded and the lawmakers returned to their usual seats, the work of rebuilding, healing, and—perhaps—finding a just and lasting peace began anew.