From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 13, 2025
Trump says Gaza deal may be ‘biggest thing’ he’s ever done; Knesset speech will stress ‘love and peace for eternity’; doesn’t know why Israel not at Egypt summit
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US President Donald Trump says the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal “could be the biggest thing I was ever involved in,” speaking to Axios from Air Force One en route to Israel.
Trump tells the outlet, which shares a reporter with Israel’s Channel 12 news, that his message from the Knesset later today will be “love and peace for eternity.”
He tells Axios that attacks on Iran in June, which he ordered the US to briefly join, paved the way for the deal by weakening a key Hamas patron. Lifting what he calls “the black cloud” around Iran’s nuclear program, which he claims was weeks away from a bomb, helped bring more Arab states to the table to push for a deal, he contends, according to Channel 12.
Trump says he watched parts of the Saturday night rally in Hostage Square, where his special envoy Steve Witkoff, daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner spoke.
“It was an incredible rally. It was a great thing. Everybody is thrilled,” he’s quoted saying.
Axios reports that Trump “sounded enthusiastic” about a peace conference set to take place in Egypt following his Israel visit, and is happy that PA President Mahmoud Abbas will attend. He says he does not know why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is staying away, but notes that Egypt was in charge of invites.
The Times of Israel Community.