Netanyahu Calls for Trump to Receive Nobel Peace Prize Over Israel–Hamas Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Oct. 9 called for U.S. President Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for helping broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas after two years of fighting.

“Give [Trump] the Nobel Peace Prize – he deserves it!” Netanyahu’s office said in a post on X.

The post includes what appears to be an artificial intelligence-generated image of Trump wearing an oversized medal around his neck as he stands next to Netanyahu amid cheering people and falling confetti.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner is scheduled to be announced on Oct. 10 in Norway. Nominations for the prize were finalized before the Israel–Hamas peace deal was announced this week.

“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on the evening of Oct. 8. “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”

Since taking office in January, Trump has suggested on multiple occasions that he deserves to win the prestigious prize for his work in Israel and in the mediation of other conflicts, including between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, and India and Pakistan this year. The president has also attempted to broker a deal to end the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.

“I’m not politicking for it,” Trump told reporters in response to questions about the peace prize during the Aug. 8 Armenia and Azerbaijan peace agreement event. “I have a lot of people that are.”

Israel and Hamas signed an agreement on Oct. 9 to free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the first phase of the Trump administration’s plan to end the conflict. The war in Gaza has raged since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing more than 250 hostages.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 67,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict. The figure does not distinguish between fighters and civilians and includes some deaths from natural causes. The Epoch Times cannot verify these figures.

Under the deal, fighting will cease, Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza, and Hamas will free all remaining hostages it captured in the attack that precipitated the war, in exchange for hundreds of prisoners held by Israel. Fleets of trucks carrying food and medical aid would also be allowed into Gaza under the plan.

Netanyahu’s office has said that the cease-fire would take effect once the agreement is ratified by his government, which would convene after a security cabinet meeting later on Oct. 9.

The deal received support from Arab and Western countries and was widely portrayed as a major diplomatic achievement for Trump, who cast it as a first step toward reconciliation in the wider Middle East.

In a series of posts on social media, Netanyahu’s office stated that the prime minister spoke with Trump late on Oct. 8, saying that he invited the U.S. president to address Israel’s parliamentary body, the Knesset.

In response, Trump told Axios that he is “likely going to Israel in the coming days” to address the Knesset.

The United Nations said that it would provide its full support to the Gaza cease-fire agreement and would move to send aid to Gaza, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on the morning of Oct. 9.

“To turn this ceasefire into real progress, we need more than the silencing of the guns,” he said.

Reuters contributed to this report.