Trump says ‘we’ll see’ how Israel, Hamas react after hostages freed

President Trump didn’t offer any assurances that Hamas will disarm and Israel will stop its attacks after the hostages are released as part of the peace deal’s first phase.

The president said “we’ll see” when asked about any guarantees, but said he’s focused on getting the hostages out.

“They wanted these hostages back that have lived in hell like nobody has ever even dreamt possible. And after that, we’ll see, but they’ve agreed to things, and I think it’s going to move along pretty well,” he said at a Cabinet meeting Thursday.

The exact terms of the agreement are unclear, though under a 20-point peace plan presented by Mr. Trump last week, Hamas would disarm in exchange for Israel ending its offensive in Gaza.

More humanitarian aid for Palestinians would go there, and plans to rebuild Gaza would be discussed.

“I gave you a whole list of 22 different things that will take place, and I think it’ll take place, and I think you can end up with peace in the Middle East, but we have to get our hostages back,” the president said.

He added, “We’re going to create something where people can live” in Gaza after the fighting has stopped. “You can’t live right now in Gaza; it’s a horrible situation. We’re going to create better conditions for people.”

When asked about security guarantees in Gaza, he said the U.S. will work with “very wealthy countries that love people” to make the enclave livable.

He also said he has no view on a two-state solution between the Palestinians and Israel.

“I’m going to go with what they agreed to,” he said.

The president said he was asked to speak before the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, when he heads to the Middle East potentially over the weekend.

“If they would like me to, I will do it,” he said.

He suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has seen a rise in popularity since the deal was signed.

“I think he’s very popular right now. He’s much more popular today than he was five days ago,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Netanyahu. “I can tell you right now people shouldn’t run against him. Five days ago, might not have been a bad idea.”