Mon Oct 13 19:13:39 UTC 2025: **Headline: Trump Brokers Ceasefire Deal Ending Two-Year Gaza War**

**Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt -** In a historic moment for the Middle East, U.S. President Donald Trump presided over a signing ceremony in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, solidifying a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas on Monday, October 13, 2025. The deal brings an end to the two-year Gaza war, marked by significant loss of life and prolonged conflict.

The agreement follows a prisoner and hostage exchange between the two sides. Hamas released the remaining 20 surviving hostages after two years of captivity in Gaza, while Israel freed 1,968 mostly Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The deal also includes the return of the bodies of 27 hostages who died or were killed in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014.

President Trump, arriving in Israel earlier in the day to a hero’s welcome, declared it “a great day” and “a new beginning”. He expressed confidence in the durability of the agreement, stating, “The document is going to spell out rules and regulations and lots of other things… it’s going to hold up.”

The ceasefire was brokered after Hamas militants seized 251 hostages in an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,219 people. Most of the hostages had been freed in prior truces, however, 47 had remained in captivity.

Alongside President Trump, leaders from Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye signed the declaration as guarantors of the Gaza deal. Key points remain unresolved, including Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s lack of commitment to a full withdrawal from Gaza.

Despite these challenges, President Trump expressed optimism. He revealed that discussions on the next steps of the plan, “Phase 2,” were underway, with phases “mixed in with each other.” He praised Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for his instrumental role in the talks with Hamas.

President El-Sisi returned the compliment, calling Trump “the only one capable of bringing peace to our region”. A brief meeting between President Trump and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas also took place at the summit, while representatives from Israel and Hamas did not attend.

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