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The relief following the end of fighting in Gaza is substantial. Within Israeli borders, the liberation of surviving detainees has resulted in broad celebration. In Gaza and the West Bank, celebrations are also underway as as many as 2,000 Palestinian detainees are being freed – though anguish persists due to uncertainty about the identities of those released and where they will be sent. In northern Gaza, residents can finally go back to sift through wreckage for the bodies of an estimated 10,000 unaccounted-for individuals.

Truce Development Despite Earlier Odds

Just three weeks ago, the chance of a ceasefire seemed unlikely. However it has taken effect, and on Monday Donald Trump journeyed from Jerusalem, where he was hailed in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he joined a prestigious peace conference of more than 20 world leaders, featuring Sir Keir Starmer. The plan for peace launched at that summit is due to be continued at a assembly in the UK. The US president, cooperating with international partners, did make this deal happen – despite, not because of, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian Statehood Hopes Tempered by Past Precedents

Expectations that the deal represents the initial move toward Palestinian statehood are reasonable – but, considering previous instances, rather hopeful. It lacks a transparent trajectory to sovereignty for Palestinians and threatens separating, for the foreseeable future, Gaza from the West Bank. Furthermore the utter devastation this war has produced. The lack of any timeline for Palestinian autonomy in Mr Trump’s plan contradicts vainglorious allusions, in his Knesset speech, to the “historic dawn” of a “age of abundance”.

The American leader was unable to refrain from sowing division and individualizing the deal in his speech.

In a period of respite – with the liberation of detainees, halt in fighting and restart of aid – he decided to reinterpret it as a ethical drama in which he exclusively reinstated Israel’s dignity after supposed betrayal by past US commanders-in-chief Obama and Biden. Notwithstanding the Biden administration a year ago having undertaken a analogous arrangement: a ceasefire connected with humanitarian access and eventual negotiations.

Meaningful Agency Vital for Authentic Resolution

A initiative that denies one side meaningful agency is incapable of delivering legitimate peace. The ceasefire and relief shipments are to be welcomed. But this is still not policy development. Without mechanisms securing Palestinian participation and command over their own establishments, any deal threatens freezing oppression under the language of peace.

Aid Necessities and Rebuilding Obstacles

Gaza’s people urgently require relief assistance – and food and medicines must be the first priority. But rebuilding should not be postponed. Within 60 million tonnes of debris, Palestinians need support reconstructing dwellings, schools, healthcare facilities, mosques and other organizations destroyed by Israel’s incursion. For Gaza’s transitional administration to prosper, monetary resources must flow quickly and security gaps be addressed.

Comparable with a great deal of the president's diplomatic proposal, mentions to an multinational security contingent and a suggested “diplomatic committee” are worryingly ambiguous.

Global Backing and Prospective Outcomes

Substantial international support for the Palestinian leadership, enabling it to succeed Hamas, is probably the most promising possibility. The immense hardship of the previous 24 months means the humanitarian imperative for a resolution to the conflict is possibly more urgent than ever. But even as the halt in fighting, the homecoming of the hostages and vow by Hamas to “demilitarise” Gaza should be acknowledged as constructive moves, Donald Trump's record gives little reason to trust he will accomplish – or consider himself obligated to try. Immediate respite should not be interpreted as that the likelihood of a Palestinian state has been brought closer.