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The relief resulting from the ceasefire in Gaza is immense. Within Israeli borders, the liberation of the living hostages has sparked extensive joy. Across Palestinian territories, festivities are also underway as approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees start to be released – though anguish remains due to doubt about who is being freed and where they will be sent. In northern Gaza, people can at last return to search the debris for the remains of an estimated 10,000 missing people.

Ceasefire Emergence Contrary to Previous Doubts

Just three weeks ago, the probability of a ceasefire seemed unlikely. Yet it has taken effect, and on Monday Donald Trump travelled from Jerusalem, where he was cheered in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he joined a high-level peace summit of over 20 world leaders, among them Sir Keir Starmer. The diplomatic roadmap begun there is due to be continued at a meeting in the UK. The US president, working alongside international partners, did make this deal happen – contrary to, not due to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dreams of Independence Moderated by Previous Experiences

Hopes that the deal represents the opening phase toward Palestinian statehood are comprehensible – but, given past occurrences, slightly idealistic. It lacks a transparent trajectory to sovereignty for Palestinians and threatens separating, for the near term, Gaza from the West Bank. Additionally the utter devastation this war leaves behind. The lack of any timeframe for Palestinian self-determination in the presidential proposal gives the lie to vainglorious references, in his Knesset speech, to the “epochal beginning” of a “era of prosperity”.

Donald Trump could not resist sowing division and personalising the deal in his speech.

In a moment of ease – with the hostage release, halt in fighting and resumption of aid – he chose to recast it as a ethical drama in which he solely reclaimed Israel’s dignity after alleged disloyalty by former US presidents Obama and Biden. Notwithstanding the Biden administration previously having attempted a similar deal: a cessation of hostilities linked to relief entry and future negotiations.

Meaningful Agency Vital for Sustainable Agreement

A plan that refuses one side substantive control cannot yield authentic resolution. The halt in hostilities and relief shipments are to be embraced. But this is not yet diplomatic advancement. Without systems ensuring Palestinian participation and control over their own organizations, any deal endangers freezing oppression under the language of peace.

Aid Necessities and Rebuilding Obstacles

Gaza’s people crucially depend on humanitarian aid – and nutrition and medication must be the first priority. But reconstruction must not be delayed. Among 60 million tonnes of rubble, Palestinians need support restoring homes, educational facilities, medical centers, mosques and other institutions destroyed by Israel’s incursion. For Gaza’s interim government to succeed, funding must be disbursed rapidly and security gaps be addressed.

Comparable with a great deal of Donald Trump's peace plan, allusions to an multinational security contingent and a recommended “peace council” are alarmingly vague.

International Support and Future Prospects

Robust global backing for the Gaza's governing body, allowing it to replace Hamas, is likely the most encouraging possibility. The tremendous pain of the previous 24 months means the moral case for a settlement to the conflict is potentially more critical than ever. But although the halt in fighting, the homecoming of the detainees and pledge by Hamas to “disarm” Gaza should be accepted as constructive moves, Donald Trump's history provides scant basis to trust he will deliver – or consider himself obligated to try. Immediate respite does not mean that the prospect of a Palestinian state has been moved nearer.