Why Trump came back from Gulf with $2tn investments but empty-handed on Gaza

Experts tie lack of major progress on Gaza ceasefire with uncertainty over Saudi-Israel normalisation

US President Donald Trump visited the Abrahamic Family House, a symbol of the series of agreements that have normalised relations with Israel. Reuters

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President Donald Trump returned from his Gulf tour celebrating business ventures and big-dollar trade deals, but it appears he was unable to make major progress on ending the war in Gaza.

On Monday, Mr Trump took to social media to share screenshots of news articles and commentary about last week's trip, heralding his time in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE as a “bright new day” for the region.

He announced the lifting of US sanctions on Syria and secured $2 trillion worth of commercial deals and investment pledges for the US in aviation, artificial intelligence, technology, defence and energy.

But experts say he missed an opportunity to end the 19-month-old war in Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 53,000 Palestinians, and left the coastal enclave in ruins.

Aziz Alghashian, an expert at the Arab Gulf States Institute, said it was indication that the prospects of Saudi-Israel normalisation have been pushed back.

“I think the fact that perhaps there wasn't enough talk on Gaza meant that there wouldn't be enough talk on aspects of normalisation,” Mr Alghashian told an AGSI online seminar on Monday. “That's why it was somewhat compartmentalised.”

In a speech on his first day in the region, Mr Trump said it was his “fervent hope” that Saudi Arabia would establish diplomatic ties with Israel, but said the kingdom will do it on its “own time”.

The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan established ties with Israel through the Abraham Accords during the first Trump administration. The Republican President said he wants more countries to join in his second term.

During a business event in Doha, Mr Trump persisted with comments that the US would “take” Gaza and that its Palestinian inhabitants would be moved elsewhere.

“I'd be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone, let some good things happen, put people in homes where they can be safe,” he said. “And Hamas is going to have to be dealt with.”

NBC reported that the Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate up to one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya. The State Department said the report is untrue.

The war began on October 7, 2023 when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people.

After a ceasefire collapsed in March, Israel resumed near-daily air strikes on the strip, after cutting off the entry of all food, medicine and aid, drawing accusations of war crimes.

Palestinian children jostle for food at a charity kitchen set up at the Islamic University campus in Gaza City, on May 12. AFP

On Monday, Israel announced it had allowed just five aid lorries into Gaza.

Mr Trump acknowledged on Friday that Palestinians in Gaza are “starving” but defended Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he was in a “tough situation”.

Still, Mr Trump, who has advanced an “America First” approach towards foreign policy, has not shied away from antagonising allies. Unlike his first foreign trip as president eight years ago, Mr Trump did not stop in Israel and a planned trip by Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth to the country was cancelled without explanation.

“There wasn't much said about Gaza, but there was quite an obvious standpoint from the US: we're not going to Israel,” said Mohammed Baharoon director general of B’huth, a UAE-based research centre.

“This is a new stand that we haven't seen before,” Mr Baharoon said during the seminar. “It's the beginning of a shift where the Israeli government also have to notice that it has to do things differently because the world is changing.”

Observers say the Hamas attack has radicalised Israeli society and the sitting government, diminishing the prospects of a Saudi-Israeli deal. Israel's continued strikes on Gaza and its siege on the territory have also isolated its leaders.

Meanwhile, Riyadh has long tied joining the Abraham Accords with progress towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.