Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hebrew Channel 12.

The Hebrew channel quoted Netanyahu saying, “The war is over,” following the return of all prisoners held by Hamas to Israeli custody.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had declared, while flying over the occupied territories, that “the war is over,” expressing optimism that the agreement “will hold” and could establish lasting peace in the region. He criticized a journalist’s question about Netanyahu not clearly declaring the war’s end.

Trump said, “The Gaza war is the eighth war I have ended. I am skilled at ending wars and establishing peace, and this is a great honor for me,” affirming that many verbal guarantees were given in this regard, adding that everyone in the Middle East wants to be part of peace.

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz noted that with the war’s end and the return of dozens of prisoners to their homes after two years in captivity, Netanyahu faces a new battle—not on the battlefield but in the arena of narrative and political history.

While the families of the prisoners celebrate their children’s return and the start of a long-awaited calm phase, Netanyahu prepares to present his own narrative in a celebratory Knesset session attended by Trump, attempting to convince both domestic and international audiences that he was steadfast, brave, and the final decision-maker in ending the war.

Behind this image he seeks to establish, different facts emerge about intense American pressure, a troubled Zionist leadership, and a deep internal division threatening the ruling coalition’s survival.

According to reports by The Washington Post, Trump applied direct pressure on Netanyahu, threatening to cut military and diplomatic support at the United Nations if the Israeli leader rejected the American 20-point plan, which included a ceasefire, prisoner release, and the start of political arrangements post-war in Gaza.