Even by the standards of Donald Trump’s larger-than-life second term, Oct. 13 looms large. The release of the last living hostages from their inhuman and indefensible captivity, President Trump’s speech to the Knesset, and his presence shortly afterward in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, at a global summit that only he could convene were extraordinary.
It is much too soon to tell what it all means. Events are still moving quickly, and it will be months or years before the results can be fully assessed. But as joyful videos of hostages reuniting with their families flooded the internet, we know five things about what just happened.