Sen. John Fetterman praised President Donald Trump’s announcement of a first-phase Gaza deal, said the two-year war could finally end with all hostages coming home, and suggested Trump would merit a Nobel Peace Prize if the agreement holds. In a Fox News America’s Newsroom interview on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Democrat also urged the president to approve Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine.
“It’s entirely appropriate to celebrate this,” Fetterman said, thanking “God this terrible war is going to end and these poor souls kept underground for over two years can come back home.” He added that Hamas has committed to the plan, Israel has too, and that key Arab governments such as Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar “have really pushed Hamas,” calling the emerging framework “the best deal you’re ever going to get.”
Hamas had signed off on the first phase
Trump said on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had signed off on the first phase of a US-brokered plan that would see hostages released and Israeli forces pull back to designated lines inside Gaza, with further steps to follow. The announcement, greeted with broad but cautious international support, came amid ongoing mediation by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.
Fetterman, a staunch pro-Israel voice in the Democratic Party, tied his optimism to what he described as Israel’s wartime gains and recent U.S. actions against Iran. “Another part of it is what Israel has accomplished through this entire war… and [that] they stopped Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and I fully supported that,” he said, referencing his public backing in June for Trump-ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. He was the lone Democratic senator to oppose a bid to limit further Iran strikes.
Asked whether Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, Fetterman replied, “If this sticks, I think the whole point of having a Nobel Peace Prize is for ending wars and promoting peace.” He then made a direct appeal for Ukraine, urging Trump to “provide the Tomahawks to the Ukrainians” to help Kyiv push back Russian forces. The White House has said the president is weighing whether to green-light Tomahawk deliveries, a move welcomed by some US allies and condemned by Moscow as escalatory.
Fetterman has recently prodded Hamas publicly to accept the US-backed deal and has congratulated Trump for advancing what he called a “historic” plan, underscoring his break with parts of his party over the Gaza war.
While celebrations erupted in Israel and Gaza following Trump’s announcement, diplomats and analysts cautioned that implementation details in the coming days will be decisive, including sequencing of the hostage-prisoner exchanges, Israeli military repositioning inside Gaza, and safeguards against renewed rocket fire. “One little thing going wrong can upend all of this,” Fetterman acknowledged, echoing a history of fragile ceasefires in the region.
What the deal’s first phase includes, at a glance: release of all living Israeli hostages, an initial Israeli pullback to agreed lines inside Gaza, and expanded humanitarian access, with further phases to address longer-term security and governance questions. Israeli approval processes and on-the-ground verification remain in progress.
Fox News published Fetterman’s congratulations shortly after the president’s announcement. The senator’s comments on Wednesday continue a pattern of backing Trump’s most consequential Middle East moves this year, even as he insists he is “an independent voice in the Democratic Party.”