President Donald Trump received a rapturous welcome in the Knesset on Monday as Israel celebrated the release of the last 20 living hostages from Hamas captivity — a moment he declared marked not only the end of a war, but the end of “an age of terror and death.”

“After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families,” Trump told Israeli lawmakers, who rose repeatedly in applause. “Twenty-eight more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time. And after so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace.”

The president’s speech came just after the final round of prisoner exchanges concluded under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. It was both a victory lap and a declaration of a new era, delivered in the rhetoric that have long defined Trump’s political style.

“This is not only the end of a war — it is the end of an age of terror and death,” Trump said. “This is the beginning of the age of faith, hope, and of God. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”

Trump underscored the victory that he led:  “Two years ago… thousands of innocent Israeli civilians were attacked by terrorists in one of the most evil and heinous desecrations of innocent life the world has ever seen… please know that America joins you in those two everlasting vows—NEVER FORGET, and NEVER AGAIN.”

In a gesture that highlighted the extraordinary reception, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana announced plans to coordinate with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other parliamentary leaders to nominate Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

“You, President Trump, are a colossus who will be enshrined in the pantheon of history,” Ohana said. “Thousands of years from now the Jewish people will remember you. We are a nation that remembers.” He compared Trump to Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who freed the Jewish people from galus in Bavel and allowed them to rebuild the Bais Hamikdash.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, standing alongside Trump, went a step further — nominating him for Israel’s highest civilian honor, the Israel Prize. If approved, Trump would be the first non-Israeli recipient in the nation’s history.

“Donald Trump is the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House,” Netanyahu said. “No American president has ever done more for Israel than this one — and as I said in Washington, it ain’t even close.”

Trump’s visit to Israel comes just one week after he helped finalize the sweeping ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, following months of shuttle diplomacy between Washington, Doha, and Jerusalem. The agreement included Hamas’s full disarmament, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, and international guarantees of peace enforcement.

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