President-elect Donald Trump addressed a crowd on Sunday in Washington, DC, at a rally ahead of his inauguration on Monday. During his speech, he spoke about the recent release of Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari, who had been held captive by Hamas, as part of a ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas.
“This week, we achieved an epic ceasefire agreement as a first step toward lasting peace in the Middle East — and this agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November,” he declared.
Trump celebrated the release of the hostages, saying, “I’m glad to report that the first hostages have just been released, and who knows what’s going to happen.” He also dismissed President Joe Biden’s assertions that he was responsible for the deal, adding, “I know that Biden is saying that he made the deal, well…first of all, [October 7] would have never happened if I were President. It would have never happened. There was not even a thought of it. Iran was broke, it had no money for Hezbollah, they had no money for Hamas. They had no money. They were broke. Totally broke.”
He took the opportunity to express gratitude to Steve Witkoff, his Special Envoy to the Middle East, who had previously addressed the rally. “He’s an amazing guy. I said, ‘We have to get a good negotiator.’ A lot of guys are knowledgeable but they can’t negotiate. They don’t have the personality or whatever. And Steve does, and Steve’s a great negotiator…this breakthrough really couldn’t have been done without Steve.”
Trump emphasized the achievements of his incoming administration, contrasting them with the current one. “Our incoming administration achieved all of this in the Middle East, in less than three months, without being President. We’ve achieved more without being President than they’ve achieved in four years with being President,” he claimed.

In early December 2024, Trump became directly involved in the plight of the hostages in Gaza, issuing a stern warning that severe consequences would follow if they were not released by his inauguration on January 20. He reiterated this position repeatedly in the weeks that followed. Last Thursday, shortly before the deal was finalized in Qatar, Trump underscored the urgency of completing the agreement.
“We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,” he told Dan Bongino in a podcast interview. “We shook hands, and we signed certain documents, but it better be done,” he added.
On Saturday, Trump discussed the agreement in an interview with NBC News, sharing his perspective on the progress made.
When asked about his confidence in the release of the hostages, he responded, “Well, we’re going to see very soon, and it better hold.” He also recounted advice he gave to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, saying, “Just keep doing what you have to do. You have to have — this has to end. We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done.”
{Matzav.com}