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 is setting off for Israel and Egypt on Sunday to celebrate the 

 and urge Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build a 

It's a fragile moment with Israel and Hamas only in the early stages of implementing 

 of the Trump agreement designed to bring a permanent end to the war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, 

Trump thinks there is a narrow window to reshape the Mideast and reset long-fraught relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

It is a moment, the Republican president says, that has been helped along by his administration's support of Israel's decimation of Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The White House says momentum is also building because 

 are demonstrating a renewed focus on resolving the broader, decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, in some cases, deepening relations with the United States

“I think you are going to have tremendous success and Gaza is going to be rebuilt,” Trump said Friday. “And you have some very wealthy countries, as you know, over there. It would take a small fraction of their wealth to do that. And I think they want to do it.”

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement calls for the release of the final 48 hostages held by Hamas, including about 20 believed to be alive; the release of 

 held by Israel; a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza’s main cities.

Israeli troops on Friday finished withdrawing from parts of Gaza, triggering a 72-hour countdown under the deal for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages, potentially while Trump is on the ground there. He said he expected their return to be completed on Monday or Tuesday.

Trump will visit Israel first to meet with hostage families and address the Knesset, or parliament, an honor last extended to President George W. Bush during a visit in 2008. Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said Trump also was likely to meet with newly freed hostages, too.

“Knock on wood, but we feel very confident the hostages will be released and this president is actually traveling to the Middle East, likely this evening, in order to meet them and greet them in person,” Vance told CBS' “Face the Nation.”

Trump then stops in Egypt, where he and Egyptian President 

 will lead a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh with leaders from more than 20 countries on peace in Gaza and the broader Middle East.

It is a tenuous truce and it is unclear whether the sides 

 on Gaza’s postwar governance, the territory's reconstruction and Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm. 

 could break down, and Israel has hinted it may resume military operations if its demands are not met.

“I think the chances of (Hamas) disarming themselves, you know, are pretty close to zero,” H.R. McMaster, a national security adviser during Trump's first term, said at an event hosted by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies on Thursday. He said he thought what probably would happen in the coming months is that the Israeli military "is going to have to destroy them."

Israel continues to rule over millions of Palestinians

 across the occupied West Bank. Despite 

, Palestinian statehood appears exceedingly remote because of Israel’s opposition and 

The war has left Israel isolated internationally and facing 

 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister are in effect, and the United Nations' highest court is considering allegations of genocide brought by South Africa.

Hamas has been militarily decimated and has given up its only bargaining chip with Israel by releasing the hostages. But the Islamic militant group is still intact 

 if there’s an extended period of calm.

Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would continue with its demilitarization of Hamas after the hostages are returned.

“Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt that the sword was on its neck — and it is still on its neck,” Netanyahu said Friday as Israel began to pull back its troops.

Trump wants to expand the Abraham Accords

 and rebuilding is expected to take years. The territory's roughly 2 million residents continue to struggle in desperate conditions.

Under the deal, Israel agreed to reopen five border crossings, which will help ease the flow of food and other supplies into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

Trump is also standing up a U.S.-led civil-military coordination center in Israel to help facilitate 

 as well as logistical and security assistance into Gaza.

Roughly 200 U.S. troops will help support and 

 as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private-sector players. U.S. troops will not be sent to Gaza, Adm. Brad Cooper, the U.S. military commander for the region, said in a social media post Saturday.

The White House has signaled that Trump is looking to quickly return attention to building on a first-term effort known as the 

, which forged diplomatic and commercial ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

A permanent agreement in Gaza would help pave the path for Trump to begin talks with Saudi Arabia as well Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, toward normalizing ties with Israel, according to a senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

Such a deal with Saudi Arabia, the most powerful and wealthy Arab state, has the potential to reshape the region and boost Israel’s standing in historic ways.

But brokering such an agreement remains a heavy lift as the kingdom has said it won’t officially recognize Israel before a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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President Donald Trump is setting off for Israel and Egypt to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. He's also expected to urge Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build a durable peace in the volatile region. Trump is stopping first in Israel to meet with hostage families and address the parliament. 

Trump sets off for the Mideast to mark a ceasefire deal and urge Arab leaders to seize the moment

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