Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did the unexpected this weekend and jumped on the Trump Train after President Donald Trump brokered the historic Israel-Hamas ceasefire that brought all 20 remaining hostages home from Gaza on Monday. (EDITORS NOTE: The image in this article is A.I. created)
“It’s a really significant first step and I really commend President Trump and his administration, as well as Arab leaders in the region for making the commitment to the 20-point plan and seeing a path forward for what’s often called the day after,” Clinton told CBS News.
Hamas released the final living hostages to the Red Cross on Monday morning, ending a two-year ordeal that began with the radical Islamic terrorist group’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack resulted in the murder of roughly 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and in about 250 hostages taken into Gaza.
Israel will release approximately 2,000 Palestinian terrorist prisoners in exchange, including 250 serving long sentences and 1,700 detained during the conflict.
Trump addressed Israel’s Knesset on Monday, calling the ceasefire “the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
“This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of a age of terror and death, and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God,” Trump said to standing ovations from Israeli lawmakers.
Clinton appeared alongside former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who also praised the Trump administration’s diplomatic breakthrough. Clinton said Israel’s September attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital of Doha was “ill-advised” and a “strategic error” that gave Trump’s negotiators an opening.
“That provided an opening for both President Trump and his representatives to marshal all of the regional powers, including, of course, Qatar, but also to make it clear to Israel, ‘No, this is now enough. We cannot continue this. This conflict needs to end, and we’ve got to move on,'” Clinton said.
She wasn’t alone. Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman also praised Trump’s efforts. “I congratulate @POTUS on this historic peace plan that releases all the hostages,” Fetterman wrote on X. “Now, enduring peace in the region is possible.”
Arizona’s Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly called it a “big deal” and a victory for Trump’s team.
“I think it’s fair to give him credit for this,” Mr. Kelly said. “This so far looks like a possibility of success. If it does hold over the long term, yeah, I think that you could say his relationship with Bibi was part of this.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House” and nominated him for the Israel Prize, the country’s highest award. Netanyahu predicted Trump would win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2026.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana compared Trump to Cyrus the Great, declaring the president is not “another American president” but “a giant of Jewish history—one for whom we must look back two and a half millennia into the mists of time to find a parallel.”
Trump thanked special envoy Steve Witkoff, son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Dan Caine for their roles in securing the peace deal.
The president told Israeli lawmakers their country had accomplished its military objectives and must now pursue peace.
“You’ve won. I mean, you’ve won,” Trump said. “Now it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”
Trump promised to help rebuild Gaza and urged Palestinians to “turn forever from the path of terror and violence.” He extended an offer to Iran, saying “the hand of friendship and cooperation is always open.”
The ceasefire represents just the first phase of Trump’s comprehensive 20-point plan to end the two-year war. The plan calls for Israel to withdraw from Gaza in phases and for control of the territory to be handed over to a “technocratic” committee that excludes both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
The deal recognizes an independent Palestinian state as “the aspiration of the Palestinian people,” though the timeline for statehood discussions remains unclear.
Trump and Netanyahu flew together to Egypt on Monday for a peace summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi declined the Egyptian invitation, saying neither he nor President Masoud Pezeshkian could “engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian people and continue to threaten and sanction us.”
Hillary Clinton praises Trump for peace deal,
"It’s a really significant first step and I really commend Trump and his administration."pic.twitter.com/wVFX7QeHkA
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) October 11, 2025