Trump: ‘Dawn of a New Middle East’; Second Phase of Gaza Deal | NTD News Today (Oct.13)

Welcome. President Trump is in Egypt attending the signing ceremony of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. We're going to tune into that now. Do you want to have a couple of questions? We're having an amazing period of time, like I think nobody's seen before. And we had tremendous stuff, as you know, in Israel. And now we're in a country where a friend of mine is a very powerful leader. And my friend is right here. The President, also the General, you know. Sometimes I call him — usually I call him the General because he's both, and he's good at both. And they've done a fantastic job. And they have very little crime, you know, because they don't play games. That's why. They don't play games like we do in the United States with governors that have no idea what they're doing. But they don't have crime. I ask about crime, and they almost don't even know what I'm talking about. So it's a great tribute to this man. He's done a fantastic job in bringing this country together. And the United States is with him all the way. Thank you. Okay? All the way. And it's an honor to be with you. Sir, what will Egypt's role play in the peace process here? We played a very important role. And they had a very important role with Hamas. In fact, the General was — right here — was very instrumental because Hamas respects this country and they respect the leadership of Egypt. So we had a — you played a very important role. I appreciate it very much. Thank you. President Trump, in Israel just now, you were talking about a possible Iran peace deal. You said, we are ready when you are. Is that the ultimate goal with today's signing, to get — Not Iran, but I think Iran will come along. They've been battered and bruised. And, you know, they're — they need some help. They have big sanctions, as you know. Tremendous sanctions. I'd love to take the sanctions off when they're ready to talk. But they can't really survive with those sanctions. Those sanctions are very tough. But at some point, they're going to say, we want the sanctions off. We're going to end up with peace. I think Iran is going to be fine. I know so many Iranian people. They're great people. They're smart. Great, great people. Engineers, lawyers. I mean, they're academics. But the — they took a big hit. And, frankly, if we didn't hit them with the nuclear, I don't think you would have been able to have this incredible — this deal, this once-in-a-lifetime deal. Nobody has ever shared anything like what's happening today. And countries have all come together. All different countries. Some liked each other, some didn't. Most didn't. And they've all come together. Every country has come together. And, by the way, Iran did put out a statement, you know, that they support this deal very wholeheartedly. So that was, in itself, something. But, no, I think they want to — that's all I do in my life. I make deals. And they want to make a deal. The Press. Mr. President, what are you planning on the way down here? Now that the living hostages have been returned, can you please tell us what the next steps are? Well, they're going and looking for bodies. It's a pretty gruesome task. And they're — they know where numerous are, as you know. I guess five or six are in yet now. But they're looking for bodies. They know the areas. And they have search parties out, and they're doing it in conjunction with Israel. And they'll — they're going to be finding quite a few of them. President Trump, can you tell us when phase two of the negotiations will begin? Well, it started. I mean, it started, as far as we're concerned. Phase three started. And, you know, the phases are all a little bit mixed in with each other. They're going to start cleaning up. If you look at Gaza, it needs a lot of cleanup. That's why, when I talk to you in my speech, I talk to you about the debris. I use the word debris. That's debris times 10. So, but we're going to — they're going to really do a job. They have a lot of power. In another room, you have the wealthiest — some of the wealthiest nations in the world. All leaders — the big leaders are here. The emirs and the kings and everybody. And it's a very interesting group. I guess we have, like, 35 countries. And that's only because they were the 35 that we invited. Everybody that we invited came. So it's — there's a lot of respect. And I think you'll see some tremendous progress, both in the Middle East This country is doing very well. It has good leadership. It's about leadership. And it's really nice when you say, how is your crime situation? And they're like, don't even know what you're talking about. What do you mean, crime? We don't have crime. Because if he has crime, he puts it out very quickly. Some people think that's not nice, but I think it's great. Because people don't want to be mugged and smashed, and they don't want to be stupid people. They have a place that is doing very well. We're very proud of them. Because we knew each other from the beginning. The first time I met, it was in a hotel. And I was going to meet him, and then Hillary Clinton was following me. Remember? Hillary Clinton. And he liked me so much, he never even got to see Hillary. He saw her for about two seconds. But he didn't really want to waste a lot of time. He knew what was going to happen. But that was the first time we met. And we had a very good chemistry together. And it continues till today. So I want to thank you all very much. I appreciate the way you covered this really momentous... I've never seen anything like it. The level of love, the level of respect for what it is. And it's, you know, it's peace in the Middle East. And everybody said it's not possible to do. And it's going to happen. And it is happening. It's before your very eyes. And that's why it's become so fascinating. Marco, do you have anything to say? Egypt's been a phenomenal participant. I think both Steve and Jared will tell you the critical role they've played. And they can tell you themselves. They hosted the talks here. And they're going to play a very important role now in the follow-up, the implementation of this. Which is really, it's not simply about restoring Gaza. It is about transforming the region. So we have an incredible partner, the Long Alliance. A very capable partner here. And a tremendous collection of leaders. This is clearly, in my mind, I think in the mind of everyone in this room, probably one of the most important days for world peace in 50 years. That's not an exaggeration. Only 50? Maybe 100. This is the end of World War II. Mr. Wyckoff and Mr. Kushner, I'm curious. You've played such an important role in the tactical negotiations here. What will your role be going forward as a lot more has to be brought to the table here? The minute we had inked the deal, Jared and I were already working on the implementation side of the deal. So we're dug in. We'll be here quite a bit. That's at the direction of the President. That's probably going to be one of the most important phases here. Jared is remarkable to work with. I talk about it all the time. And, of course, we both love the President. So it feels like a very honorable job. Mr. President, would you like to say something with the interpreter? Yes. Well, first of all, I would like to say I welcome you to Egypt. It's a great pleasure and an honor to have you with us here in the city of peace, Sharm El Sheikh. I would also like to extend, on behalf of all Egyptians and peace lovers around the world, a salute, the appreciation, and the respect for this unprecedented violence. I've been very confident that Your Excellency is the only one who is capable of bringing this about and bringing an end to this war. I even said that very precisely during my communication with Your Excellency that you are the only one who is able to bring about peace and to achieve peace in this country. Thank you, Mr. President. What we need to do now is to fixate the ceasefire and make sure that it maintains its sustenance, that we can deliver all of the remaining bodies of the deceased to their families. This is very important. To bring in more humanitarian assistance into the district and working very closely on following up the rest of the steps that should be taken to make this successful. Mr. President, you did very well. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. He's a good man. Thank you. He's a good man. We're with him all the way. Will he be on the Board of Peace, sir? I'd like to have him on the Board. I'd like to. We may need an interpreter, but that's okay. You can't do better. The Board of Peace, I'll be there. We've had many leaders want to be on the Board, actually. The Board of Peace, it's taken on, Steve, I'd say, a life of its own, hasn't it? Do you want to discuss that, what's happened? I think we have a long list of applicants to be on the Board of Peace. That's very nice. That's better than the other way. Usually it's the other way. Nobody wants to be on the Board. But it's really taken on. This whole thing has taken on a life that's very different. It's been really a great honor. And you people have done a fantastic job, I want to tell you. We appreciate it very much. Thank you very much, everybody. One second. I just want to look forward to Your Excellency's support and your sponsorship with us in the conference for the reconstruction. Thank you. 100 percent, thank you. Thank you, everybody. That was President Trump live in Egypt, speaking with the country's leader at the Summit for Peace, in which they're further negotiating plans going forward as part of President Trump's brokered peace deal. Now, next, popular D.C. tourist attractions closed over the weekend as the government shutdown enters its third week. Vice President Vance talks about waste and fraud within the health care program that Democrats want to extend, making future negotiations more tricky. NTD's Melina Wisecup reports. Washington, D.C.'s National Zoo, along with 19 museums and research centers, closed their doors on Sunday. They've run out of funds to keep operations going smoothly. The administration has started mass firings for federal employees. A court filing states that over 4,000 employees would be fired, noting that the situation is rapidly evolving. President Trump previously said cuts will target Democrat priorities. We'll be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren't popular with Republicans, frankly, because that's the way it works. They wanted to do this, so we'll get a little taste of their own medicine. The president over the weekend directed the secretary of war, Pete Hexeth, to use all means to ensure troops are paid this week. He urged Democrats to first vote to reopen the government. Then he says we can work together to address health care and many other things that they want to destroy. There are some Democrats who I think are reasonable enough to know this is not a sustainable position for them who are looking for a way to get something in this conversation that would enable them to have the issue that they say they care about here addressed. Most Democrats, however, remain unwavering in their stance that health care negotiations come before reopening. Senator Mark Kelly said a simple vote to extend Obamacare subsidies wouldn't even be enough to secure his vote. These are not easy decisions, but we can work this out together. The administration seems to want the same thing. They want the government open. The president said he wants to solve this health care issue. If we all agree upon that, let's just do it at the same time. While Republicans and the president are open to health care discussions, Vice President J.D. Vance on Sunday said the fraud and waste must be rooted out. He said he wants to make sure tax credits go to people who need them. Senators will return to Washington on Tuesday. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. President Trump addressed Israel's parliament, the Knesset, earlier today. NTD's Dan Yamanahan has key takeaways from the president's speech, plus news on the release of hostages. President Trump was given a standing ovation by Israeli MPs as he entered the Knesset on Monday. People in the Knesset could be seen wearing hats reading, Trump, the peace president. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump and thanked him for his leadership, describing it as pivotal. In putting forward a proposal that got the backing of almost the entire world. A proposal, a proposal that brings all our hostages home. The president of the United States of America. Trump was warmly received again as he prepared to speak as the crowd of lawmakers broke into rhythmic clapping. Trump conveyed his deep appreciation for Arab and Muslim nations that came together to press Hamas to set the hostages free. We had a lot of help, we had a lot of help from a lot of people that you wouldn't suspect, and I want to thank them very much for that. It's an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace. Trump said generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change for the better. Like the USA right now, it will be the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East. President Trump shared an optimistic vision of the region, calling it the historic dawn of a new Middle East. This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God. After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families, and it is glorious. Trump says across the Middle East, the forces of chaos, terror and ruin that have plagued the region for decades now stand weakened, defeated. A new coalition of proud and responsible nations is emerging, and because of us, the enemies of all civilization are in retreat. The president paid homage to what he called the bravery and incredible skill of the Israeli defense forces and Operation Rising Lion. Great job, and my people love working with you. Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza today, while Israel began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire to end two years of war. Families and friends of the hostages gathered in a square in Tel Aviv and cried out with joy and relief as news arrived that the captives were free. The crowds were heard chanting, Thank you, Trump! as the first convoy carrying Israeli hostages crossed over into Israeli territory. The hostages, all men, were they will reunite with family and undergo medical checks. Israel's army released still photographs of hostages released today, Red Cross vehicles carrying a second group of Israeli hostages were seen leaving Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip heading towards Israel. The bodies of the remaining 28 dead hostages are also expected to be handed over as part of the deal, although the exact timing remained unclear. Meanwhile, two buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released from the Israeli prisons arrived in Ramallah today as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. Daniel Monaghan, NTD News. In his speech to the Knesset, President Trump also called on President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Netanyahu. Here's a clip. Mr. President, why don't you give him a pardon? That was not in the speech, as you probably know. I like this gentleman right over here, and it just seems to make so much sense. You know, whether we like it or not, this has been one of the greatest wartime presidents. This has been one of the greatest wartime presidents. And cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that? Netanyahu is currently on trial on corruption charges. He is accused of fraud and breach of trust over the alleged acceptance of luxury gifts. Trump previously demanded the end of Netanyahu's trial in a social media post. And Trump also said the U.S. is prepared to make a deal with Iran when Tehran is ready. Earlier this year, Tehran in Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks. That was before the 12-day war in June, which the U.S. joined by striking key Iranian nuclear sites. The talks faced major stumbling blocks, such as the issue of uranium enrichment in Iranian soil. Western powers want to bring that down to zero. But Tehran rejected the plan. Trump said this morning the hand of friendship and cooperation is open, adding, quote, it would be great if we can make a deal. And to discuss President Trump's visit to Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East and the historic hostage release deal, we invite Gabrielle Sanders, the spokesperson for Be a Mensch Foundation. Thank you for your time, Gabrielle. And for those who don't know who may be tuning in, mensch is a word that means a person of integrity and honor. If you can please share your thoughts on the monumental moment in which all 20 living hostages were brought back home, thanks largely to President Trump, with some hostages publicly saying they got their life back thanks to Trump. It was a late night and an early morning for so many of us. I happen to be in New York at the moment, though I live in Jerusalem. I don't know if there are sufficient superlatives amongst the adjectives to describe the elation, the jubilation, and yet also a certain sense of sobriety that comes along with all of this. The people to be thanked, that's a very long list, starting, of course, with President Trump and with Bibi Netanyahu and all of their entourage around them of advisors and strategists. It's just phenomenal. I watched the president's full speech and was just amazed, both on script and off script, at how well he just knows how to work his crowd. It's amazing. And in this case, he was speaking to the World Theater. So we are overwhelmed with gratitude. We understand that there is a great deal of work to be done. It won't be easy, but we're ready to do it because it's what we've all longed for. And just briefly, Gabriel, you mentioned this is a moment of sobriety. Can you explain? Yes, because a lot of people have died. A lot of people have been terribly wounded on both sides. So there's great physical and psychological healing to be done. As I mentioned in a previous interview with Don Ma, there's great PTSD in Israel. It's easy to forget that we had 12 days of sirens and missiles, ballistic missiles and drones, coming down on us in June. That was very frightening. I stood at my doorway at times in Jerusalem and saw these things going down. That's not normal for people to go through that. So a lot of not normal became normal for us. And when subnormal becomes normal, then normal becomes abnormal. So our life has been very disrupted. So we know, but we're ready. The Israeli people are very, very resilient. It's a quality of the Jewish people in general through history. We have that rubber band ability to snap back. And that's what we're going to do here. We'll roll up our sleeves. We'll get to work. We'll raise the money. We'll do what we have to do. And we'll heal and we'll flourish again through all of this. Thank you for that, Gabriel. Now, President Trump is reportedly going to – we just saw him in Egypt. He's there for the summit, which will discuss the future of Gaza. So what's your prediction on the direction that world leaders will take in the challenge of governing, rebuilding, and securing the Gaza Strip? So my biggest single concern in all of this is an invisible one, and it's mentality. There's a huge need for reeducation. Because for decades, the people of Gaza and, I will say, the area that the world calls the West Bank but I call Judean Samaria, the biblical heartland, they've been indoctrinated severely with toxic themes that basically demonize and dehumanize the Jewish people. And they're taught not to live with them, that we're the sons of pigs and monkeys and terrible epithets that lead to – and that the best thing that they can do is become martyrs by killing us, to take out as many mothers, raise their children to be martyrs. They sing songs in schools about this. The UNRWA curriculum in the schools has endorsed this sort of mentality. So that's entrenched, and it has to be uprooted through a gentle process of reeducation to say what you've been taught isn't true. And so the radicalization of more than one generation, two, three, four generations, is going to take some time to reverse. It's not enough just to throw money and rebuild buildings. We have to rebuild the infrastructure of human values to come to a place – and that's what we do at the IMENCH, through a process of listening to each other, through a process of learning from each other, liking each other, and then eventually creating links that are enduring. Though we may not agree on everything, as I've said before in your program, we can disagree but we don't have to live disagreeably. And that's the objective here, I think, at a larger scale. That's going to take tremendous work to change how people think, view the world, view each other. Important to make note of what you just said. In a little bit of context, Bibi is not attending the peace summit in Israel. From what I understand, it's due to a Jewish holiday. Now, the hostage release deal is said to come at a steep price for Israel, with many high-profile terrorists included in the 250 Palestinian prisoners, along with the over 1,700 detainees released. Does the release of these dangerous individuals open the door to future violence? Well, Yahia Sinwar, may his name rot, was one of those released, and many, many others. So this is a great concern. There was a 40 to 1 ratio in terms of the number of prisoners released from the prisons in Israel and the number of hostages, both dead and alive. It's 40 to 1. And that's a huge price to pay. Now, obviously, and I watched it on a news report in Israel last night, they mentioned that these people will obviously be monitored, watched if they rejoin, if they re-radicalize. But the prisons that they're in are hotbeds of continued indoctrination. That's well documented. We know that. So, you know, when you come from a place of – and this comes, for me personally, it comes from 40 years of watching Islam in the Middle East and over eight years of living in the Middle East and not just in Israel. So I think I have a pretty good handle on what is going on in the subtext of what's said. You know, there's an Islamic or an Arabic concept called taqiyya, or better said taqiyya. And it essentially means tell the person what you think they want to hear and then do what you want to do anyway. That's a, what would you call it, a linguistic feature of the Arabic language and the mindset that says tell them whatever you got to tell them in order to get what you want to get ultimately in the end. So I'm concerned about these mechanisms that are not understood in the West. One other feature that troubles me is that the West doesn't think theologically and the Islamic world thinks theologically. We don't know what to do with that. It's like a foreign language, just like the Arabic is unknown, so the theological mindset is unknown. This can take a lot apart, not just on their side. Let's say the people of Gaza who've been so incredibly affected by all of this, just that 86% of the buildings, what a terrible tragedy. And, you know, we have no grudge against the people themselves of Gaza, but what their leaders did to them and abused them is just terrible. That transition is going to take a while. Just for example, even Hamas would divert the concrete that was supposed to go towards building hospitals and housing to building terrorist tunnels, for example. So, Gabriel, thank you for that, definitely. Now, the Jewish News Syndicate wrote an analysis piece saying that phase one of the peace deal is clear, but phase two is more uncertain. Phase two involves the disarmament of Hamas and the future governance of Gaza. Is there ambiguity in language of phase two that could mean more fighting is on the horizon if Hamas is perceived to be stalling negotiations or otherwise not cooperating? Well, I'm glad you brought that up because historically, you know, they've never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. And they are thinking in the short run of their culture is one of a face-saving culture. It's also a shame-based culture, which is why there's something called honor killings of women who they think are straying, even suspected of. It's a horrible, horrible feature of their culture. So I do agree with you that things are very fuzzy. We had to get this first one out of the way. I mean, that was a huge hurdle. If they weren't going to do that, then obviously we had to keep reengaging. But I have hope, and I have hope from the leadership that we have on the ground and the leadership that we're at the advisories advising people that are coming from the U.S. and the surrounding nations in the region that we're going to get help. But ultimately, I think Hamas has to be defanged, really dismantled, and then some new entity take its place that will be pro-the Gazan people. And Gabriel, can you give us a little bit of insight as to what the hostage families must be going through? Of course, like you said, elation, getting the 20 living hostages back, while the hostage families forum says that only four of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages still believed to be in Gaza are going to be returned by Monday. Yes. I watched through the night, the reports through the night, some 500,000 people standing around in Tel Aviv sacrificing a night's sleep to be among those that would raise their voices in jubilation as they did this morning. Phenomenal thing. And for the families, of course, we all can understand that it's been a terrible rollercoaster of hope and disappointment and more hope and more disappointment. And now jubilation that should last really forever. This is one of those days like the hostages coming back from Entebbe in 1976 or a number of different things that we could cite, that everybody will remember where they were when they heard the news. It's that nature. And so as far as what Hamas has done with those who are deceased, that's extremely disappointing. And my heart breaks for those families. Hamas is claiming they don't know where everybody is. That's sickening. Will they be used as bartering chips like they've done with others in the past? I expect so because, again, they have to maintain some kind of power unless somebody takes them out of that position of power. Gabriel, a single person dying in a terrorist attack is an absolute tragedy. But to bring in some numbers for context for our viewers here, the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel would be the equivalent of about 40 9-11s considering the disparity in the population between the United States and Israel. Trump says the war is over. He's obviously saying that knowing that there is still more that needs to be done with Phase 2 and so on. But what does that confidence that Trump says the war is over tell you? Well, sometimes our president makes the deal before the deal is done. And it's that confidence that nobody wants to say anything pejorative. They want to move ahead. His optimism and his strength have been very pivotal in all of this happening. So it's my belief that people will line up around the theme of making this the last war in the region. That's what we all want. I know some pundits of prophecy think otherwise. But we're going to work to really make things thrive with our nation. Now, one of the things you're going to see come up, and I'll just say this is the final thing I can say, I suppose, you're going to hear the theme two-state solution come up again. And that's never been a solution because it was only an effort to get a temporary state, if you will, to then get rid of the Jews. So there's really only one state. So the Hamas ambition, the Palestinian Authority ambition is for one state, not for two. There are many mechanical aspects of this, defense aspects of this, which just simply wouldn't work. When they talk about retreat to the 1967 borders, those weren't borders. Those were ceasefire or armistice lines, not true borders, not defensible. And then you've got close to 900,000 Jews who live in the area known as Judea and Samaria. What are you going to do with those? You've got 2 million Arabs in Israel proper. Are you going to have a switch? I don't think so. So logistically, a two-state solution would never, ever work. But a one state where people live together peacefully side by side, like the 2 million Arabs that live in Israel today, and are a total part of the society, we have Arab judges, and we have Arabs in the Knesset, and we have Arab professors and Arab doctors, and they're in every strata of society. And it's not an apartheid state like the detractors say, not at all. So that could work. We already have precedent for it. And Gabriel, we appreciate your commentary. And NTD News is going to be watching the developments of this peace deal very closely, and it's unclear exactly what's going to happen. And maybe Egypt was a little bit unsure as to whether or not they would go with maybe President Trump's earlier proposal of depopulating the Gaza Strip and so on. But thank you for providing us with this great insight into this situation that we're faced with. My honor and my pleasure. Many blessings to you and your viewers. Thank you. New York and New Jersey are under a state of emergency as a powerful nor'easter hits the region. How the storm could impact the region today, coming up for you in a minute. Welcome back. A powerful nor'easter is hitting the East Coast, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and dangerous flooding from the Carolinas to New England. New York and New Jersey have both declared states of emergency as the storm intensifies, with coastal flooding and high winds expected throughout the day. Governor Kathy Hochul says New York is ready to assist local partners as damaging winds and heavy rain move in across the state. The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning and wind advisory for New York City and Long Island, with gusts up to 50 miles per hour. Airports across the region, including JFK and LaGuardia, are reporting flight disruptions as airlines struggle with weather-related delays. Officials are urging residents to secure outdoor items and avoid flooded areas and check on their neighbors. There's more on that story. A powerful and dangerous nor'easter is slamming Atlantic states today. It's a cyclonic storm with northeast winds that push water toward the coast. The tidal flooding is the main concern. Authorities report numerous water rescues in the Carolinas yesterday. Today, forecasters say mid-Atlantic and New England coastlines are in danger. The National Weather Service says flood risks in some areas will remain for days. I wanted to see how high the water was, and it's higher than I expected already. Delaware says it's activating its National Guard. Atlantic City, New Jersey could see the highest water levels since Hurricane Sandy. The area is more secure than it was during that infamous storm, thanks to millions of dollars of improvements. Nowadays, everybody's preparing for the worst and kind of hoping for the best, which is, I guess, really the best way to prepare for it. The nor'easter is causing numerous travel issues. FlightAware reports more than 7,000 flight delays yesterday. It says airports in New York and Boston were hardest hit. The nor'easter also is bringing powerful winds. Meteorologists say they topped 50 miles per hour yesterday in parts of Delaware, North Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. There are some big gusts coming through, so just the chance for some isolated power outages as well. Now onto that massive explosion last week in Tennessee. Authorities say all 16 victims have now been identified after a powerful blast leveled a military explosives plant west of Nashville. Investigators continue combing through the wreckage, working slowly and carefully amid dangerous conditions. Officials have now notified all 16 families of those killed in Friday's explosion at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant in Bucksnort, Tennessee. Crews say there are no survivors. At this time, I can tell you that more than 300 people have been through that scene. I can tell you at this time we have not located any survivors, and we are making the assumption that all are deceased at this point. The explosion, which was felt more than 20 miles away, leveled the facility and left a smoldering wreck of twisted metal and burned-out vehicles. The site remains volatile, with authorities carrying out smaller, controlled detonations to remove hazardous materials. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said Sunday the investigation would continue. We will work until there is no work left to be done to try and find the answers that need to be found. Lee earlier toured the site by helicopter and praised the response from the local and federal governments, as well as the affected community. The nation has seen this tragedy, and they've been incredibly responsive. And all the way down to the local community, the response has been tremendous. Just a few miles away at Maple Valley Baptist Church, worshipers gathered Sunday to pray for the victims and their families. Pastor Jimmy Andrews led the service. There's a somber kind of vibe right now in the community just because of so many lives that have been affected by it. It's going to take time, and it's going to take all of us banding together. I know with this church family here and the other church families around, we'll come together. The Accurate Energetic Systems Facility produced explosives for military use and has faced several small fines for safety violations in the past. Investigators from the FBI and the ATF are working to determine what caused the blast, a process that could take weeks or even months because of the explosives on the site. I'm Kevin Hogan, and this is World Watch. The Nobel Prize Committee has awarded the 2025 Economics Prize for work on innovation-driven economic growth. Here's that announcement earlier today. With one half, the prize goes to Joel Mokyr for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress, and the other half jointly to Philippe Aguillon and Peter Howitt for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction. Each year, six Nobel Prizes are awarded in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and economic sciences. And now on to the Russia-Ukraine war. President Trump says he may offer long-range Tomahawk missiles to keep. He told reporters aboard Air Force One yesterday that he has discussed the request with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Well, I don't know. I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks. Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don't think so. I think I might speak to Russia about that, in all fairness. I told that to President Zelensky because Tomahawks are a new step of aggression. Tomahawks have a range of roughly 1,500 miles, far enough to strike deep inside Russia, including Moscow. Trump said if it happens, the U.S. would not sell the missiles directly to Ukraine, but would supply them to NATO, which can then offer them to keep. Zelensky has said any long-range weapons would be used only for military targets and not against civilians. Trump said last week that before agreeing to provide more weapons, he wants to know how Ukraine would use them because he does not want to escalate the war. Zelensky said he spoke on the telephone with President Trump yesterday, the second time in two days. And Russia is denying a report that one of its submarines was suffering technical problems after the vessel surfaced off the coast of northern France. NATO's Maritime Command published images on October 9th. The command said the photos showed a French Navy frigate observing a Russian submarine. Russian state media published a statement today from Russia's Black Sea Fleet denying that the sub had surfaced because of an emergency. According to the fleet, the vessel was carrying out a scheduled transit after completing operations in the Mediterranean Sea. India and the United States are set to hold trade talks this week. The upcoming talks follow meetings over the weekend on strengthening bilateral trade and investment. Discussions also come amid Washington's concerns over New Delhi's Russian oil purchases, despite Western sanctions. Talks were suspended briefly in August after the Trump administration announced tariff hikes of up to 50% on Indian goods. The administration said India's oil buys were helping to finance Russia's war in Ukraine. And President Trump addressed Israel's parliament, the Knesset, earlier today. NTD's Daniel Monahan has key takeaways from the president's speech, plus news on the release of hostages. President Trump was given a standing ovation by Israeli MPs as he entered the Knesset on Monday. People in the Knesset could be seen wearing hats reading, Trump, the peace president. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump and thanked him for his leadership, describing it as pivotal. In putting forward a proposal that got the backing of almost the entire world. A proposal, a proposal that brings all our hostages home. The president of the United States of America. Trump was warmly received again as he prepared to speak, as the crowd of lawmakers broke into rhythmic clapping. Trump conveyed his deep appreciation for Arab and Muslim nations that came together to press Hamas to set the hostages free. We had a lot of help. We had a lot of help from a lot of people that you wouldn't suspect. And I want to thank them very much for that. It's an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace. Trump said generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change for the better. Like the USA right now, it will be the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East. President Trump shared an optimistic vision of the region, calling it the historic dawn of a new Middle East. This is not only the end of a war. This is the end of the age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God. After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity... President Trump is in Egypt attending the signing ceremony of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Let's tune in. I know who this one is. That's President Trump meeting with world leaders in Egypt. Those include French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as well as representatives of Qatar, Egypt and Turkey gathering in Sharm al-Sheikh to sign the first phases of the Gaza deal. we have NTD News contributor Mike Leon, who is also the host of the podcast, Can We Please Talk? Mike, Trump is only the fourth U.S. president to speak at Israel's Knesset. What's the significance of that? Yeah, Kevin, first off, good to see you on this Monday morning. I mean, this is historic. This is huge for a lot of people that are watching this. And I think it highlights a lot of the failures of the previous administration without belaboring the Biden administration that they couldn't even get to this focal point, even though they were able to negotiate ceasefires for President Trump to be able to put this plan together, this 20-point plan to get these other countries, like you're seeing these world leaders in Egypt now, but also to speak in front of the Knesset. Like you just mentioned, Kevin, only the fourth time that that's happened in history. I mean, it just speaks to the great lengths that the president is going to actually try to establish peace. In the Middle East, for once and for all, we're seeing the release of hostages, the first of 20 Israeli hostages that are still alive that were released today back to their families. The over 2,000 or so Palestinian hostages that have started to be released, aid that is starting to flow now through Gaza and help the citizens in Gaza. I mean, this is really historic. I'm underscoring a lot of it, and I think it's incumbent upon a lot of people right now to give a lot of credit, not only to the administration, but the key instrumental figures in this, Steve Woodcoff and others that have helped get us to this point. So many key players here, and the focal point being President Trump versus the Abraham Accords. And now inking this deal, the 20 remaining living hostages coming home, now working out phase two in Egypt. Now, during his address to the Knesset, Trump hailed the historic dawn of a new Middle East. What changes do you expect to come to the Middle East under this administration? Well, that's going to be the question, Kevin. I mean, unfortunately, I can't answer that because that is still a lingering question. I think one thing to note is, is that obviously he met with el-Sisi there and the Egyptian president. Egypt is going to be a paramount player in this region, that the 20-point plan that was agreed upon between the United States and Israel, that it still needs Hamas's buy-in and incorporation, really talks about what the future state of Gaza will look like. If you read Haaretz or the Jerusalem Post, everyone's like, well, does this mean a two-state solution is coming, potentially? Something that even Biden couldn't get across, you know, the finish line or even entertain. And here's Trump talking about what the potential future of Gaza looks like. Hamas is not going to agree to any of that, Kevin. I mean, let's just be honest. I mean, that would mean that they would have to relinquish power and they would have to relinquish the military control they have in the region. So that is, unfortunately, still the outstanding question in all of this. Phase one in all of this was to get hostages back, whether it be living or deceased. That being negotiated upon over months, now two years of hostages being taken in this conflict. The fact that we're even here at this point shows, you know, the rigorous negotiations and the failures of a previous administration to try to do that, and now what the Trump administration was able to do. But now it's the other part of this. It's what the future of this region looks like. But the future of that region means that Hamas, who the West recognizes as a terrorist organization, is no longer in power. Hamas came to the table because of the influence of the Qatari government and Egypt as well. But do they relinquish control? Do they want a future of Gaza that is without them? I don't know that answer. I don't know if anybody knows that answer. And so that's where it's still outstanding, and still the questions need to be answered, Kevin. And Mike, let me just add to what you're saying. Zooming out a bit here for our audience, a former Israeli national security advisor said a perfect storm of events came together for this phase one to go through, and that is the critical factor, Iran. That their strategy collapsed, they lost proxies, they lost the bridge between Tehran and the Mediterranean. They're vulnerable without a shield. If the Americans and the Israelis want to continue the war or renew it, so more to comment on that. Or, I mean, we have Arabs in this country, we have Israelis, you know, we have Jewish people, we have people in the international community of all walks of life. How will Trump's achievement in getting the hostages released impact the public sentiment towards Trump's foreign policy? That's a great question, Kevin, and a lot that you said there, too. But the biggest thing that I will harp on is that the last part of what you said, it's this foreign policy approach that he ran on and campaigned on. And again, you know, I have my contention with the president on some of the things that he's doing domestically, but on this, with respect to foreign policy, I mean, if you truly look at the Russia-Ukraine, he tried to get a trilateral meeting, so far he's only been able to meet with both Zelensky and obviously Putin separately. Here, he was able to get this plan together, put it on paper, Kevin, and get agreements from all of these countries, not only neighboring countries, but obviously much of Europe. You just saw Kirstarmer there in the video that's playing here. Emmanuel Macron is there as well. They understand the importance and significance of a U.S. president delivering this, which is the potential end of this war. Israeli troops already started to withdraw and military personnel and tanks started to withdraw. I mentioned aid being going back into Gaza and the hostage exchange. Everyone knows that. The fact that we're even here talking about this, if you had asked anybody, you know, six, seven months ago when Trump was coming into office in that first, you know, the presser that he first did, you would have said there's no way that we'd be here seven months later because we know there's still hostages outstanding, there's still Hamas that you're trying to negotiate with, there's still Iran in the background like you just mentioned, Kevin. So the fact that we're here, it speaks volumes of a foreign policy achievement that he has made that will potentially get him nominated for that coveted Nobel Peace Prize that I know he's chasing for in 2026, given that the criteria is 2025. Very important to look at. Now, Trump has expressed concern for both Israelis and Gazans. How are supporters of a two-state solution viewing Trump's proposed deal? Again, Kevin, that's another question that like if we had to solve for it, my man, you and I would not be even doing this. We would be solving the world's biggest problems because dating back to the 40s and what has happened in this region, and I've had so many different scholars, whether it be Palestinian historians, whether it be professor of Israel studies like Dov Waksman who came on my program over at UCLA, just talking about not only the histrionics of this, but could we ever see a two-state solution? I mean, we asked presidential candidates, whether it be Joe Stein that came on the program, Nikki Haley that's been on my show, what do you see a two-state solution? Why aren't we talking about this? I think this is the first time I can truly remember or at least see the plan put on paper from this 20-point plan. There are some things that I've highlighted in this plan that really talk about the future state of Gaza, the future state of Palestine. And I think the fact that now it's being reinvigorated because now you can actually see the proof of concept, whether it be the ceasefire and now the hostages, swaps, now you're seeing the results of what true peace could potentially look like. But we still have two parties, Bibi Netanyahu for right now until the special election potentially happen next year, and you still have Hamas. And whether those two will ever come to true understanding of a two-state solution in the region, I don't know. I don't know if anybody, I don't think anybody could give you a serious answer that yes, except to say that we're on the path of potentially seeing that, but could we ever get there? We'd be meeting yet again, Kevin, in another historic monumental day if that were to happen for sure. Very good roundup for you, Mike. And we saw in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt, President of Egypt saying that Trump is the only one that can bring this together. And even the Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying this is the biggest day for peace in the world in maybe 50 years, maybe even more going all the way back to World War II. Mike Leon, thanks for coming on. Thanks for having me, Kevin. And if you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at news.today at ntd.com. And for round-the-clock original news coverage, watch us live at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. We'll cover more news for you right after this break.