President Donald Trump traveled to Israel and Egypt on Oct. 13 to mark the completion of the first phase of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and meet with several Middle East and world leaders.

The trip coincided with the release of all 20 living Israeli hostages and the beginning of the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, as outlined in the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace proposal aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas war, which has lasted more than two years. A ceasefire has been in place in Gaza since Friday, Oct. 10, which has allowed thousands of Palestinians to travel north toward a devastated Gaza City, the focus of Israeli attacks over the past two months, as aid began to trickle in.

Trump addressed the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, during his whirlwind ceasefire trip. He later traveled to Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt for a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war.

The Red Sea resort town has been the site of intense talks between representatives of Hamas and Israel, and international mediators, over the past week, in efforts to end the deadly conflict that has seen widespread destruction in Gaza and created multiple humanitarian crises.

Here are some of the key moments from Trump's Middle East trip.

'A great and beautiful day,' Trump writes in Knesset guest book

Trump greeted Israeli dignitaries and signed a guest book as he made his way into the Knesset to deliver remarks.

"This is my great honor – A great and beautiful day. A new beginning," Trump wrote in the guest book.

The president was flanked by his daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he walked into the Knesset.

Lawmakers expelled from Knesset during Trump’s speech

Trump’s speech to the Knesset included plenty of applause as he celebrated the peace deal and dished out compliments to his advisers and Israeli leaders. Not everyone was happy, though.

The speech was briefly interrupted when two members of the Israeli parliament were expelled from the chamber floor. The Times of Israel reported that one of the individuals held up a sign saying "recognize Palestine," and the other tried to hold up a sign.

"That was very efficient," Trump said as the individuals were quickly removed.

Trump makes jokes, Israeli leaders issue praise

Aside from a brief disruption from a member of the Knesset, Trump’s speech to the Israeli parliament struck a triumphant, and at times playful, tone.

The president cracked several jokes, touching on the pronunciation of "Abraham" to the length of Israeli lawmakers’ speeches, and the chamber erupted into applause and chants at points.

Trump’s hour-long speech came after addresses by two Knesset members and the prime minister, prompting the U.S. president to joke he was running behind schedule. He mentioned his summit in Egypt later in the day, joking: "I’ll be quite late, they might not be there by the time I get there."

The speaker of the Israeli Parliament, Amir Ohana, praised Trump in his address, which switched between Hebrew and English, saying, "The world needs more Trumps."

The American delegation also received repeated applause from much of the chamber, including for Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

'Give him a pardon': Trump weighs in on Netanyahu criminal case

Trump diverged from his prepared remarks to the Knesset to call on Israel’s president to pardon Netanyahu, who faces three criminal charges.

"Mr. President, why don’t you give him a pardon?" Trump said to applause. "Give him a pardon. Come on."

Netanyahu was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, according to the Jerusalem Post, which reported he is scheduled to give testimony in the case on Oct. 15.

Trump to Iran: 'We are ready when you are'

Trump used his speech to the Knesset to speak directly to Iran, saying he wanted a good relationship with the country after bombing its nuclear facilities.

"To Iran… we are ready when you are, and it will be the best decision that Iran has ever made," Trump said.

Israel also fought with Iran during the course of the two-year war in Gaza, and the U.S. joined, bombing three nuclear sites. A longtime adversary of Israel, Iran could be key to peace in the region.

"It would be great if we could make a peace deal with them," Trump said of Iran, adding, "I think they want to. I think they’re tired."

Red carpet in Egypt as Trump talks second phase of deal

Even as he celebrated the release of all living hostages and other steps in the first phase of the peace deal, Trump was pushing to take the next steps during a summit in Egypt.

Trump flew from Israel to Sharm el-Sheikh, departing Air Force One and walking down a red carpet on the tarmac amid a backdrop of mountains and palm trees before heading to a resort to meet with regional and world leaders.

The president talked about recovering the bodies of deceased hostages and rebuilding Gaza after two years of war as he took questions from reporters while meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Trump was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, at the meeting. Rubio said Egypt would play a key role in implementing the the peace plan, which Witkoff said has been the focus since Israel and Hamas agreed to the deal.

Rubio described Oct. 13 as “probably one of the most important days for world peace in 50 years.”

“Only 50?” Trump responded to laughter.

"Maybe 100," Rubio replied.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Praise, pardon and protests: Key moments in Trump's trip to Middle East for ceasefire deal

Reporting by Kathryn Palmer and Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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