President Donald Trump stood at the White House on Friday, preparing for a trip that will mark one of the most dramatic diplomatic moments of his presidency.
When an American leader last flew to Israel—just 11 days after the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023—the atmosphere was terrifyingly unpredictable. Passengers aboard Air Force One were handed small emergency cards explaining what to do if rockets targeted the motorcade. “Do not leave the vehicle,” one line warned.
But no sirens went off during Joe Biden’s nine tense hours in Tel Aviv. Instead, Israelis watched him pass along the Mediterranean coastline in a long motorcade—some from beaches where they continued playing volleyball, others from jogging paths under a fading orange sky. Life had already begun to recover, even under the shadow of war.
Now, almost exactly two years later, another U.S. president is landing in Israel—but this time under vastly different circumstances. Donald Trump is arriving not just as a supporter of Israel but as the broker of a breakthrough: a deal to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire that could bring an end to the long and devastating war with Hamas.
The ceasefire still has many phases to complete, and challenges remain, but Trump’s visit will be a victory lap of sorts—one he has hinted at for months. In a symbolic way, it serves as the conclusion to the journey Biden began in 2023.
Back then, Israel was in deep shock. Hamas had massacred nearly 1,200 people and abducted more than 200 civilians. Fear and grief hung over the country as it braced for the brutal retaliation to come.
Biden traveled to Tel Aviv offering emotional support. He embraced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the airport tarmac and later met grieving families of the October 7 victims. But his message contained a warning: Israel must not lose its moral compass in revenge.
“I understand the anger,” Biden said in a speech delivered from a Tel Aviv hotel basement. “But don’t let rage consume you.” He reminded Israelis how the United States had made grave mistakes after the 9/11 attacks by reacting without restraint.
Still, Biden’s private appeals to Netanyahu seemed to change little. Israel launched a massive military campaign in Gaza that killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and reduced cities to rubble. Over time, international patience faded. In recent months, even close allies recognized a Palestinian state—an unmistakable rebuke to Israel’s war strategy.
Meanwhile, opinion inside Israel soured. Many Israelis accused Netanyahu of allowing the war to drag on while hostages remained captive. Anger reached a boiling point. When Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff mentioned Netanyahu’s name during a speech in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square last week, he was drowned out by boos from the crowd.
Now Trump returns to Israel under far different conditions. The country is no longer under immediate rocket threat. A deal is in motion to return all 20 surviving hostages, along with the remains of those who died in captivity. Trump is expected to address Israel’s Knesset and meet hostage families before traveling to Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh to formally sign the ceasefire agreement in front of European leaders.
For Trump and his supporters, it is a vindication—a moment they believe proves his negotiating power. Some even argue it merits a Nobel Peace Prize.
For Biden, it’s a painful contrast. He spent more than a year trying to secure a ceasefire but was repeatedly stalled by Netanyahu, Hamas, and regional politics. His quick trip to Israel after the October 7 attacks ended up costing him politically at home, especially among progressive voters angry over civilian casualties in Gaza. Even as he pushed for restraint, many viewed him as too closely aligned with Israel’s wartime decisions.
Trump also clashed with Netanyahu, sometimes in profanity-laced phone calls, but he was willing to apply heavy pressure—including threatening aid and diplomatic isolation—to force movement in negotiations. His team argues that Biden failed because he relied on patience, while Trump took risks and pushed relentlessly.
“He took a different path with a new team—that’s why it worked,” Vice President J.D. Vance said recently.
Even some Biden officials admit Trump is building on their groundwork. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged last week that Trump’s ceasefire framework closely resembles one the Biden administration drafted and left behind. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s former national security adviser, added that both Israel and Hamas had reached a point of exhaustion.
Trump sees it more simply.
“They’re tired of fighting,” he said Friday.
Yet this moment is not only about Trump. It’s also about Netanyahu—who critics say prolonged the war for political survival. Now he stands alongside Trump, hoping the ceasefire will shift his legacy from disaster to redemption.
But the ceasefire is fragile. The political stakes are enormous. And the world is watching what happens next.