US President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that the war in Gaza was “over,” and appeared confident that the ceasefire and hostage release deal he arranged would hold, as he headed to Israel aboard Air Force One to celebrate the release of the hostages.

His remarks came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel’s military campaign had not yet ended, and warned of unspecified “major security challenges” that Israel would need to face in the near future.

Yet despite the premier’s comments and the fact that the Israeli government has only voted to approve the “first phase” of Trump’s plan but not to end the war altogether, Trump was adamant that the war in Gaza was a thing of the past as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One.

“Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, has not gone so far as to say the war is over,” a reporter said to him on the plane. “In your view, is the war between Israel and Hamas over?”

Trump responded instantly and firmly: “The war is over,” he said. “The war is over. Ok. You understand that?”

“I think it’s going to hold,” he said of the ceasefire, which came into effect on Friday, three days after the second anniversary of the brutal Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. “I think people are tired of it. It’s been centuries.”

He said he had received “guarantees” from Israel and Hamas, and from other key regional players, about the initial phase of the deal, as well as the future stages which have yet to be finalized.

“We have a lot of verbal guarantees, and I don’t think they’re going to want to disappoint me,” Trump said.

The president also commented briefly on his relationship with Netanyahu, saying it was “very good,”........

© The Times of Israel