US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 4, 2025. (Photo: Mandel Ngan-Pool via Reuters)
In a speech which set the record for the longest presidential address to Congress, U.S. President Donald Trump only briefly mentioned the Middle East.
While many Israelis had anticipated a larger focus on Israel, Gaza, and the hostages, after Trump invited several former hostages to the White House, the president focused most of his attention on the significant changes he has already accomplished after only a month in office.
“My fellow citizens, America is back!” Trump declared to applause from Republican lawmakers and their guests.
“It has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in 4 years or 8 years—and we are just getting started,” the president boasted.
The speech, which lasted more than 90 minutes, focused on Trump’s actions on immigration, slashing government bloat via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and defending tariffs on various nations.
Despite having invited several former hostages and hostage families to the speech, Trump only mentioned the hostage issue in passing, stating, “we’re bringing back our hostages.”
“In the Middle East, we’re bringing back our hostages from Gaza,” Trump claimed.
“In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations: the Abraham Accords. And now we’re going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region,” the president continued. “A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. People have been talking about that so much lately with everything going on, with Ukraine and Russia. A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. It’s a rough neighborhood, actually.”
Former hostages Eli Sharabi, Omer Shem Tov, Yair Horn, and Keith and Aviva Siegel were invited to the White House before Trump’s speech. The meeting was initiated by Miriam Adelson, who is working to influence the US administration regarding the release of the hostages. It reportedly came after Trump saw video of an interview with Sharabi describing his suffering during captivity.
According to Kan News, the hostages were also invited to the speech, although Trump did not directly mention them, or the the parents of Idan Alexander, the last surviving American-Israeli hostage, Ronen Neutra, the father of slain American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra, nor Noa Argamani, who was invited to the address by House Speaker Mike Johnson. The former hostages and families wore yellow scarves in honor of the remaining hostages still captive in Gaza.
While the president promised “a more peaceful and prosperous future” for the Middle East, notably absent was any mention of his proposal to evacuate Gaza and bring it under American control. That plan has been endorsed by Israel but rejected by Hamas and Arab states.
Earlier that day, the Arab League, in an emergency summit, backed an Egyptian proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza as an alternative to the Trump plan.
Trump’s mention of Israel by name came earlier in the speech, when asking Congress for funding for a “state-of-the-art Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland.”
“Other places have it — Israel has it,” Trump said. “We should have it. We want to be protected.”
He touched on other foreign policy issues in his speech, including his controversial claims about the Panama Canal and Greenland.
“To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it,” Trump claimed.
In addition, he promised Greenland that the United States would accept them as part of the U.S.
“I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.”
