On Saturday evening, Tel Aviv’s Hatofim Square witnessed a massive gathering with tens of thousands participating in a celebration of the prisoner exchange deal as part of the first phase of the US peace plan for the Gaza Strip.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the US president, took the stage amid warm applause from the crowd, estimated by Witkoff at over 100,000 people. Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, also participated in the ceremony.

In his speech, Witkoff said: “This is the most beautiful scene I have ever seen in my life. Our hearts all beat today in Tel Aviv for peace, unity, and hope.”

The attendees chanted “Thank you, Trump,” reflecting popular support for Washington’s role in reaching the agreement.

However, the atmosphere quickly changed when Witkoff thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, as their names were met with sharp boos from the audience, forcing the US envoy to pause briefly before calmly continuing: “Well… let’s continue.”

In contrast, the mention of US President Donald Trump’s name was met with warm applause and chants of “Thank you, Trump,” showing a clear divide in Israeli public opinion between popular support for Trump and anger towards the current Israeli leadership.

Before the celebration, Witkoff and Kushner met at Beit Ariela in Tel Aviv with families of the 48 released captives, and also visited an Israeli army site north of the Gaza Strip accompanied by US Central Command leader Admiral Bradley Cooper and Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

According to a Fox News report, the field visit was to verify the completion of the Israeli army’s withdrawal from areas of the Gaza Strip as stipulated in the recent US-Israeli agreement.

An Israeli army security source confirmed to the Israeli army radio that Witkoff and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir visited one of the Israel Defense Forces sites inside the yellow line in the Gaza Strip this morning.

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday morning, where he will deliver a speech before the Knesset and meet with families of prisoners. Later, he will head to Egypt to meet President Sisi and participate in the Gaza peace agreement signing ceremony alongside representatives of the guarantor countries: Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, according to Axios.

The summit is likely to be held Tuesday morning in Sharm El-Sheikh, with the possibility of moving it to Monday, according to sources.