ISTANBUL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump on Monday as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”

“No American president has ever done more for Israel, and as I said in Washington, it ain’t even close. It’s really not a match,” Netanyahu told the Knesset (parliament) in the presence of the US president.

"Welcome to Israel, on this moving day that will be inscribed in the history of our people, and you, Mr. President, will also be inscribed in the history of our people," Netanyahu told the US leader.

The speech came hours after the Palestinian resistance group Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages under Trump’s plan to end a two-year Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana also called Trump “the best friend that the state of Israel has ever had,” and “a giant of Jewish history.”

Trump announced last week that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. The first phase of the deal came into force on Friday.

Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza, without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,800 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.