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IIsrael and Hamas have Agreed on the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan To end the war in Gaza, including a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
After a devastating two-year conflict that claimed thousands of lives, things now seem to be moving forward. The plans were announced last Monday, discussed in Egypt this week and agreed upon by the end of Wednesday. Bringing hope back to a war-weary region,
As it stands, It has been agreed upon to release all hostagesThe living and the dead, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed line.
These important agreements are the beginning of a possible path to peace. The Israeli government faces intense pressure domestically to return the hostages, and the people of Gaza have suffered devastating losses in the two-year war.
But sticking points remain. It is unclear who will actually run Gaza when the fighting stops. Israel will leave no holes in its security and Hamas must agree to its effective disengagement in Gaza.
returning hostages
A senior White House official told CBS News that Israel must first withdraw its troops from Gaza to the agreed line. He said that this would probably happen within 24 hours.
Then, Hamas will have 72 hours to release the surviving hostages, possibly starting on Monday, according to the official. A source briefed on the details of the ceasefire told Reuters the hostages could be released as early as Saturday or at the latest by Monday.
Israel says there are still 48 hostages in Gaza and 20 are believed to still be alive. Sources told CNN that the Israeli government is aware that Hamas does not know the remains of some of the 28 dead hostages still in Gaza, or is unable to repatriate them.
Another complication for Hamas is that freeing the hostages would not give them any leverage in negotiations. If Hamas frees its captives and lays down its arms, it depends on the good faith and commitment of foreign parties to uphold the terms.
Dr. Andreas Craig, Associate Professor of Defense Studies at King’s College London, said Independent: “Trust is low after months of failed efforts and violence during negotiations. Continued attacks while delegations are in Egypt make it difficult to set aside a day and an hour to trigger a ceasefire. Any deadly incident before Friday could prompt one side to pause, insist on new security measures or back out of the agreed upon agreement.”
“Negotiators are still working through the sequence of steps for the first phase that links the ceasefire to an initial Israeli withdrawal and a hostage-prisoner exchange. If both sides question who moves first, or if the names on the exchange list cannot be verified in time, implementation will slip.”
support for the agreement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to Trump’s plan, but the Israeli government must vote on the terms on Thursday.
Now the majority are Israelis Tell That the time has come to end the war. But they disagree over whether the main goal of the war should be to bring hostages home or to defeat Hamas, according to a recent poll. Netanyahu faces similar pressure in the Knesset.
In theory, Trump’s plan should answer both concerns. It lays out a roadmap for the immediate return of hostages still in Gaza, and should Hamas gain support from the right wing by removing it from power.
In practice, politics remains fragmented. While there are legislators on both sides of the Knesset expressed supportFinance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said his far-right Religious Zionist party would not vote in support, and warned against releasing Palestinian prisoners, whom he described as “the next generation of terrorist leaders who will do everything to shed rivers of Jewish blood”.
In January, a vote managed to overcome opposition from the far right to secure a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages and prisoners. Crucially, negotiations on moving to phase two did not occur until phase one was planned to be finished. Fighting started again in March. A temporary ceasefire in November 2023 also lasted just a week before being broken.
Evicting Hamas does not guarantee undeniable security, and people in Israel will still need concrete assurances that peace will not only be immediate but lasting.
Dr Craig said: “The agreement is not yet politically dead in Israel. It still needs security-cabinet and then full cabinet approval, and at least one senior coalition leader has already signaled opposition. A late revolt by hard-liners or demands for amendments to the text would push back the timetable.”
“External politics increases the risk,” he said. “The United States is pushing for quick progress, but Israeli coalition dynamics, as well as internal debates within Hamas, could still trump the mediator’s deadlines. Even with public support from Western leaders, last-minute domestic pressure could slow a deal that looks close on paper.”
What comes after Hamas?
The original plan describes a transitional government – ”technical and apolitical” – managing the overall operation of Gaza, overseen by an international body called the “Peace Board”.
Ultimately, subject to certain “reforms”, the interim government could be replaced by the Palestinian Authority. Questions remain regarding the future of the Palestinian state. More enduring questions of Palestinian sovereignty are also not mentioned.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he hoped the ceasefire would be “a prelude to reaching a permanent political solution”, leading to the establishment of an independent state.
The form it takes will matter across borders. In 2012, 61 percent of Israelis supported two states. Now, all around one in five to do.
Hamas has also suggested that it will retain a role in negotiations over the long-term future of Gaza. This leaves room for future disagreements – although, even then, Hamas would have little to gain after releasing the remaining hostages.
Details on the disarmament of the group are still lacking. In the past, Hamas has said it would disarm only when a Palestinian state was secured. Over the weekend, Netanyahu said that Hamas would be disarmed and Gaza would be demilitarized “either the easy way or the hard way.”
“This deal is an important milestone, yet it falls short of ending the conflict,” said Dr. Burcu Ozcelic, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). “Maintaining the ceasefire will require continued vigilance, confidence-building, and the continued engagement of the US, UK and their allies. The ceasefire may have been won, but the difficult task of establishing peace is not yet complete.
“This will require both sides to make difficult – and in the case of Hamas, existential – compromises.”
delicate optimism
The people of Israel and Gaza have a long memory of the conflict, and few are alive today who recall a period of lasting peace.
Trump’s plan to end the war is not the first. Foreign observers have submitted several drafts in recent months, hoping to learn from and overcome the failures of previous ceasefires.
Dr. Ozcelik said Independent: “This agreement leaves out much else – an ambiguity presumably designed to preserve Israel’s operational flexibility.
“In the first phase, success will depend on the return of all Israeli hostages and the release of agreed Palestinian prisoners. In the longer term, the process is likely to be more complex, with milestones such as the demilitarization of Hamas becoming a major test, which Israel views as crucial to the pace and sequence of its phased withdrawal.
“Any violation, or claim by anyone, could rapidly collapse the ceasefire, providing the basis for a new cycle of violence.”