(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that he might not end up in heaven, even after his recent efforts to broker peace between Israel and Hamas.

During a conversation aboard Air Force One en route to Israel, a journalist asked whether achieving peace in Gaza might earn him a place in heaven. “I’m being a little cute,” Trump said with a laugh. “I don’t think there’s anything going to get me in heaven. I think I’m not maybe heaven-bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make heaven, but I’ve made life a lot better for a lot of people,” he added.

Trump went on to highlight his record as a dealmaker, claiming that the truce between Israel and Hamas would be “the eighth war that I’ve solved.”

On Monday, Hamas released the final 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, following Israel’s decision to suspend its military operations and pull back from parts of Gaza.

Later that day, Trump joined the leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye in signing a declaration in Sharm el-Sheikh on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, endorsing the ceasefire and outlining a framework for “comprehensive and durable peace arrangements.”

Trump’s 20-point peace proposal envisions Gaza as a “deradicalized terror-free zone.” While Hamas accepted the prisoner exchange outlined in the plan, the group has so far refused to disarm or relinquish control of the territory, and Israel has not agreed to a complete withdrawal from the enclave.

The US president’s remarks come less than a year after he survived an assassination attempt in July 2024, when a sniper opened fire during one of his reelection campaign rallies.

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