Trump arrives in Israel amid first phase of Gaza peace plan

U.S. President Donald Trump touched down at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport on Monday morning, as the first batch of hostages were released as part of his plan to end the war on Hamas in Gaza.

The president was received by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said that when Trump shook his hand after exiting Air Force One, the president told him that his son, who was killed in action in Gaza in November 2023, was “looking down at you with a smile.”

“My heart burst. I told you that when Moshe led his forces into Gaza, he said they were going in to bring our brothers and sisters home. He and his comrades began the mission — and you, Mr. President, together with our [prime minister], have completed it,” he tweeted.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the president’s remarks “comforting words” and a “powerful moment” on the airport’s tarmac.

Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were invited to travel to the Knesset in Trump’s presidential car, in what the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office described as a break of diplomatic protocol.

Netanyahu will host Trump in his parliamentary office, followed by a meeting with families of hostages held by Hamas.

Trump is then scheduled to address for the first time a special session of the Knesset, alongside Netanyahu and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid.

The historic visit—the first of Trump’s second term—will conclude with a farewell at Ben-Gurion Airport, without a public ceremony.

Trump will then depart Israel for Egypt, where he is expected to attend a summit with more than 20 world leaders to discuss the future of Gaza.

Trump touched down in Tel Aviv as Hamas terrorists were in the process of freeing the Israeli hostages they’ve held in the Gaza Strip for over two years, as part of the ceasefire outline mediated by his administration.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, shared a picture to Instagram showing the TV screen aboard Air Force One from which Trump watched the first seven hostages being released.

Ahead of Trump’s arrival, a giant sign thanking the president was erected on a beach near the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, on one of the flight approach routes to Ben-Gurion Airport.

“Thank you,” read the sign, which stretched the length of three football fields and also featured a silhouette of Trump’s head, hovering over two blue stripes and blue Stars of David, symbolizing the Jewish state’s flag.

The beach sign also included the word “home” in English and Hebrew.