Pause, not peace: On the Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement  

After two years of relentless Israeli bombardment, Palestinians in Gaza are finally getting a reprieve. The ceasefire agreement, signed by Hamas and Israel as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, brought a pause in Israel’s attacks. Hamas is expected to release all living hostages on Monday (October 13, 2025) and the bodies of the rest on the days after. Israeli troops have already started retreating to the initial withdrawal line, from Rafah in the south to Gaza City in the north along the border, and some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners will be released. Mr. Trump deserves credit for the ceasefire. Until recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who always vowed to fight until “total victory”, resisted all calls for a ceasefire. When Israel started the Gaza war, after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, it pledged to “dismantle” the Islamist militant outfit. In two years, Israel has turned Gaza into rubble and displaced most of its 2.3 million people. Its brutal genocidal assault and starvation of Palestinians led to its international isolation. Yet, Hamas remained an unresolved problem. Mr. Netanyahu wanted to continue to fight irrespective of international public opinion. But the U.S., which continues to back Israel militarily and diplomatically, finally strong-armed Mr. Netanyahu into accepting the ceasefire in return for the release of hostages.

While the ceasefire is a major reprieve for the Palestinians, the hostages and their families, it may not necessarily lead to lasting peace in Gaza. The ceasefire is only the initial phase of the Trump plan, which also calls for demilitarising Hamas, placing Gaza under an international governance body, and the deployment of an International Stabilisation Force for security. In its response to the Trump plan, Hamas agreed to release the hostages but remained non-committal on other terms. Another contentious issue is the continuing presence of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza – after the initial withdrawal, the IDF will still control some 53% of Gaza. Mr. Trump is expected to travel to Egypt on Monday to attend a summit on Gaza — French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be present. The renewed international attention on the Palestine question is a positive development. But the question is whether these deliberations can bridge the gaps in the Israeli and Palestinian positions, leading to lasting peace. Hamas is unlikely to accept demands to dismantle itself, certainly not after fighting Israeli forces for two years. But it could be pressured to relinquish power in Gaza for a Palestinian authority, backed by international actors, while Israel should be persuaded to leave. For Mr. Trump’s hopes for lasting peace, he should act as an independent broker, not as a partisan patron of one country, and recognise Israel’s security and the Palestinian quest for self-determination.