STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday (October 12) aboard Air Force One, while en route to Israel, that he thinks he's not "heaven-bound" despite his peace plan for Gaza, a ceasefire and hostage deal that is potentially the first step to the end of the two-year long war that has upended the broader Middle East.

Responding to a question from a reporter, who cited Trump's earlier remark on how brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine could get him into heaven, Trump said: "I mean, you know, I'm being a little cute. I don't think there's anything going to get me in heaven."

Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday (October 13) under a ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as Trump declared the end of the war.

Hours later, Trump convened Muslim and European leaders in Egypt to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip and the possibility of a wider regional peace, even as Hamas and Israel, both absent from the gathering, are yet to agree on the next steps.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SPEAKING TO JOURNALISTS ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE

SHOWS: IN AIR (OCTOBER 12, 2025) (WHITE HOUSE – Access all)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SPEAKING ON AIR FORCE ONE EN ROUTE TO ISRAEL, IN EXCHANGE WITH JOURNALIST

JOURNALIST ASKING (English): "You had talked a couple of weeks ago, you were doing an interview and you talked about how you hope to end the war in Ukraine because it might help you get into heaven. How does this help? Does this help?"

TRUMP: "I mean, you know, I'm being a little cute. I don't think there's anything going to get me in heaven. Okay. I think I'm not maybe heaven bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly in 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. And, you know, as an example, had the election of 2020 not been rigged, you would have millions of people living just in Russia and Ukraine alone, that would have never happened. And it didn't happen for four years. And I knew Putin very well. It was the apple of his eye that all the things I've said would have never happened. We had an incompetent administration. We had an incompetent president. And because of a crooked election, millions of people are dead."