A Long-Awaited Ceasefire: Israel-Hamas Deal Signed
Protesters call for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel (Wikimedia Commons)
In a long-awaited breakthrough, Israel’s government approved a ceasefire and hostage release plan on October 9, bringing a temporary halt to the Israeli-Gaza conflict. The agreement, brokered by U.S. President Trump following his 20-point peace proposal unveiled in September, comes just two days and two years after the October 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
Mounting international pressure on Israel forced the parties to reach the agreement. Global protest movements intensified as many nations joined in a rallying call for Palestinian sovereignty. Israel’s recent strike in Qatar, a key U.S. ally, further strained its relationship with Washington, the largest supplier of arms to Israel (Birnbaum, Diamond, and DeYoung). Meanwhile, the SFGATE reported that two senior U.S. officials believed “a badly battered Hamas recognized the hostages had become more of a liability than an asset.”
The conflict began after Hamas launched a cross-border assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages (Halbfinger). The United Nations Commission has described Israel's ensuing military campaign in Gaza as a genocide that resulted in the deaths of over 67,000 Palestinians.
The parties have already set the first phase of the agreement in motion. Palestinians are beginning to return to Gaza's north, as Israeli Forces have withdrawn to the lines agreed under President Trump’s plan (Bennet). This deal gives Hamas 72 hours to return all 20 hostages who are believed to be alive. The return of the bodies of deceased hostages remains unresolved, with no schedule yet announced. Meanwhile, officials plan to send 600 humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza each day, as the director-general of the World Health Organization said the agency stands “ready to scale up its work to meet the dire health needs” in the territory (Chater and Sullivan).
While celebrations were observed in both Palestine and Israel following the announcement of a ceasefire, there still remains profound anxiety over its durability. Israel attacked Gaza after two months of relative peace following the previous truce, which was reached in January this year, citing the need to pressure Hamas into releasing captives. This time, the Times of Israel reported that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu threatened a return to war if his demands were not met “the easy way” (Silkoff and Staff). Further complicating prospects for lasting peace, Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Qatar-based broadcaster Al Araby that the group would reject the Trump administration’s proposal for an interim “Board of Peace” to oversee Gaza's post-war governance (Burke and Christou).
As it stands, the Israel-Hamas deal is not a peace agreement but a ceasefire. While both sides have made concessions, the toughest of issues remain. Will Hamas agree to disarm itself? Will Israel agree to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza? And will there be a recognition of a Palestinian state? Fueling this skepticism, the Arab Center in Washington, D.C., reported that the Plan “lacks the mechanisms necessary to ensure its own implementation.” These limitations suggest that the agreement represents only a temporary pause in hostilities—not a definitive step toward lasting peace.