Aya Batrawi
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Aya Batraoui, NPR News, Dubai.
The last time Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Washington was seven years ago, just before his aides killed Saudi critic and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, sparking international outcry.
But the heir to the Saudi throne returns to Washington as a partner, not a pariah.
The prince, known also for major social and economic reforms that have changed life in Saudi Arabia, has vowed hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the U.S.
He's expected to ask for F-35 fighter jets, advanced AI chips, nuclear technology, and a defense pact that wouldn't require congressional approval.
Underpinning those talks are personal ties between Trump and Prince Mohammed.
That was on display in May when the president chose Saudi Arabia again as his first overseas trip.
And those personal ties mixed with business as billions from the Gulf flow into Trump's family ventures.
There were sporadic celebrations overnight after Trump's announcement, but the past two years of war in Gaza are a nightmare that continues.
Ahmed Ait says he doesn't have faith that this is the beginning of a lasting peace, as Trump says.
He says how can he be happy after all the blood that's been shed?
How can he be happy when he's still living in a tent with his children displaced from their home?
Aid says he's lost more than 150 relatives in Israeli attacks on Gaza and that people are living on the streets without food or water.
Under the plan, Israel must lift restrictions to allow hundreds of trucks of aid in per day.