Great and beautiful day: Trump writes in Knesset guestbook as Hamas releases 20 hostages

Tel Aviv, Oct 13
US President Donald Trump called Monday a "great and beautiful day" as the 20 Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity earlier in the day as part of his Gaza peace plan.

Trump arrived at Israel's Parliament, Knesset, where he signed the guestbook.

"This is my great honour. A great and beautiful day, a new beginning," he writes in a thick, black Sharpie marker.

President Trump is scheduled to meet with families of hostages and also address the Knesset, becoming the fourth US president to do so.

Earlier in the day, all 20 living hostages were handed over by Hamas in Gaza.

Addressing journalists at the Knesset, US President Donald Trump again declared that the war in Gaza had come to an end.

"This is a great day. This is a whole new beginning, and I think there's never been an event like it. The love in the streets has just been incredible," the Times of Israel quoted Trump as saying.

When asked about what would happen to Hamas if it fails to comply with the ceasefire, he responded, "They'll comply."

Speaking about the hostages, he added, "We're so happy for them. They're going to be happy and they're going to have a great life. They've been very brave."

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog welcomed US President Donald Trump as he landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport.

Before boarding his flight, Trump called the upcoming visit a "special time."

"This is going to be a very special time...There are 500,000 people yesterday and today in Israel. And also, the Muslim and Arab countries are all cheering. Everybody's cheering at one time. That's never happened before. Usually, if you have one cheering, the other isn't. This is the first time everybody is amazed, and they're thrilled, and it's an honour to be involved, and we're gonna have an amazing time, and it's gonna be something that's never happened before," he said.