Washington [US], October 10 (ANI): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday praised the efforts of President Donald Trump as Israel and Hamas agree for the 'first phase' of Gaza ceasefire deal or 'peace plan', saying that it was only possible due to Trump's involvement in forging 'personal and close relationships' between partners in the middle east region.

'It's not an exaggeration that none of it would have been possible without the President of the United States being involved. It really began with your trip to the Middle East, where these relationships were forged with partners in the region, personal and close relationships that created the foundation for all of this to be possible,' Rubio said while addressing a cabinet meeting at the White House.

He said that the Gaza peace plan seemed impossible even a month ago, but was made possible with Trump convening a 'historic' meeting of Muslim majority countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan, during his visit to the United Nations on September 23.

Rubio also mentioned the US president met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on September 29 and presented the Gaza peace plan.

'Where I think this really took a turn, remember a month ago, no one thought this was possible. It really took a turn about a month ago, less than a couple of weeks ago, when we were at the United Nations. You convened a historic meeting, not simply of Arab countries, but of Muslim majority countries from around the world, including Indonesia, Pakistan, and created this coalition behind this plan. Then, on the following Monday, you met with the Prime Minister of Israel here, and that plan was presented,' he added.

The US President had convened a cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday morning following the announcement that the 'first phase' of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas would commence soon.

At the meeting, Trump said, 'Last night, we reached a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East, something that people said was never going to be done. We ended the war in Gaza, and I think it's going to be a lasting peace, hopefully, an everlasting peace.'

'We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday. Getting them is a complicated process...I'm going to try and make a trip over. We're going to try and get over there. We're working on the timing, the exact timing. We're going to go to Egypt, where we'll have a signing, an additional signing. We've already had a signing representing me, but we're going to have an official signing...' he said.

Trump also underscored his administration's role in addressing global conflicts, stating that multiple wars had been resolved during his tenure.

'We settled seven wars, or major conflicts, but wars. And this is number eight. And the one that I thought would be maybe the quickest of all would be Russia-Ukraine. I think that's going to happen, too. But in the meantime, they're losing about 7,000 people a week, and that seems pretty bad...That war should never have happened. It would have never happened if I were President,' Trump said.

His remarks echoed those made earlier on September 23, when he addressed the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, declaring that within seven months of his presidency, he had achieved what many thought impossible. He asserted that he had ended seven 'unendable' wars and reiterated his claim of having helped broker a truce between India and Pakistan earlier this year.

'In just 7 months, I have ended seven unendable wars,' Trump told world leaders. 'They said they were unendable, some were going for 31 years, one was 36 years. I ended seven wars, and in all cases they were raging with countless thousands of people being killed.'

The US President listed the conflicts he said were brought to a close under his watch, citing Cambodia and Thailand, Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Trump has repeatedly linked his claims at the UNGA with remarks he made earlier this week in Washington. On September 21, while speaking at the American Cornerstone Institute Founder's Dinner, he again asserted that he played a role in 'stopping wars,' including between India and Pakistan, and even suggested he should be honoured with the Nobel Prize for 'ending seven wars.'

'We are forging peace agreements, and we are stopping wars. So we stopped wars between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia,' Trump said at the event. (ANI)