Trump hails dawn of new era in Middle East as hostages released
US President Donald Trump has proclaimed the Gaza war over during his brief but triumphant Middle East visit after Hamas released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners were freed
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
US President Donald Trump has proudly declared an end to the Gaza war after more than two years, vowing to take his peacemaking to the wider Middle East before leaving the region late Monday local time.
“This isn’t only the end of a war [ …],” President Trump said in an address to the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset. “This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
VICTORY VISIT
For Mr Trump, the brief visit was a chance to bask* in widespread Israeli praise for his peacemaking efforts and to reject at least in part critics who have dismissed his claims to have ended multiple wars since returning to the White House.
The Gaza agreement is a big diplomatic* win for the US President.
Mr Trump used his relationships with Arab and Muslim countries, most notably Qatar and Turkey, to pressure Hamas to release remaining Israeli hostages* as phase one of the deal. Freeing them meant Hamas had to give up its biggest hold over Israel from the outset, opening the pathway to a viable* peace plan.
EMBRACING OPPORTUNITY
But Mr Trump’s ability to pursue a larger regional settlement will be tested by his own instinct to move on now that the fighting in Gaza has stopped. Rather than keeping focus on the Middle East, Mr Trump suggested that while he would seek a deal restricting Iran’s nuclear program, first he wanted his small national security team to tackle negotiations with Russia to halt the war in Ukraine.
He called on Israel and Arab governments to “embrace the opportunities of the moment” to settle the wider region, urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join in pursuing a peace agreement with Iran.
US PRESIDENT PRAISED
Mr Trump arrived in Israel as 20 hostages were released by Hamas and transferred to Israel’s military inside Gaza. He later flew to Egypt for a summit meeting with other leaders aimed at building momentum for a broader post-war settlement.
“So many people said you are just wasting your time. We weren’t,” Mr Trump said. “We had a lot of help from people that you couldn’t suspect.”
At the Knesset, Israeli politicians chanted Mr Trump’s name and credited him with forging the agreement that ended the conflict, with only brief mentions of the many post-war issues still to be decided.
Mr Netanyahu heaped praise on Trump, describing him as Israel’s “greatest friend” and crediting him for transforming “overnight” negotiations to end the brutal two-year conflict.
“You are committed to this peace, I am committed to this peace and together, Mr President, we will achieve this peace,” Mr Netanyahu said, in his own address to the Knesset.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Major elements of the next phase of the Gaza deal remain to be negotiated, including the makeup of a multinational force to provide security in Gaza and the creation of an interim* governing body.
The planned stabilisation force will face a number of challenges, especially in disarming Hamas and if Israel resumes military operations in Gaza. The Trump administration has yet to spell out how large the force might be, how long it would need to be deployed and how the US military might help it from outside Gaza.
It was also unclear how involved other countries in the region would be in rebuilding Gaza, including whether wealthy Gulf nations would finance rebuilding efforts if they saw signs that a longer-term peace plan was faltering.
“Success will hinge greatly on the determination of President Trump to see the process through … without which it could easily descend into mutual recriminations* and chaos,” said Shalom Lipner, a former senior official in the Israeli prime minister’s office.
Former US Middle East negotiator and Carnegie Endowment* for International Peace senior fellow Aaron David Miller said Mr Trump “has to be prepared to ride this through to the end”.
“If he doesn’t, this is going to drift and you will end up with a Gaza that looks more like October 6, whether Hamas is involved or not,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal
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GLOSSARY
- bask: to enjoy a positive, warm situation, as when one gets approval and praise
- hostages: people who have been captured by a person or organisation and who may be killed or injured if others do not do what that person or organisation wants them to do
- diplomatic: ability to hand a difficult situation between different parties with skill
- viable: able to work as intended or able to succeed
- interim: temporary, meant to provide something or do a job for a short period until a permanent solution or appropriate person is found
- recriminations: arguments between people or groups who are each blaming the other for the fight
- endowment: gift of money given to an institution or community in order to provide it with an annual income, often to fund particular activities, projects or people
EXTRA READING
End of the war in Gaza in sight
Australia to recognise Palestine
What is the Israel and Palestine conflict?
QUICK QUIZ
- What is the name given to the Israeli parliament?
- US President Donald Trump used his relationships with the leaders of which two countries in particular when negotiating the peace deal between Hamas and Israel?
- How many hostages were released as Mr Trump arrived in Israel?
- What does Mr Trump purportedly want his national security team to focus on next?
- What are two challenges facing the planned stabilisation force?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Hostage release
Put yourself in the shoes of one of the 20 Israeli hostages walking free after more than two years.
Describe their emotions and reactions to the news they were being released by using a Y Chart – what would freedom look like, how would freedom feel and what would you hear?
Looks like:
Feels like:
Sounds like:
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, History, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
Write a peace pledge in the form of a poem, paragraph or poster, about what peace looks like for you at school, in families, or in the world.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, History, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Wow word recycle
There are plenty of wow words (ambitious pieces of vocabulary) being used in the article. Some are in the glossary, but there might be extra ones from the article that you think are exceptional as well.
Identify all the words in the article that you think are not common words, and particularly good choices for the writer to have chosen.
Select three words you have highlighted to recycle into your own sentences.
If any of the words you identified are not in the glossary, write up your own glossary for them.
Extension
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any base words with more specific synonyms?
Down-level for a younger audience. Find a sentence in the article that is high level. Now rewrite it for a younger audience so they can understand the words without using the glossary.