We Have an Israel-Hamas Deal. Now Comes the Onerous Half

[ad_1] Is the Gaza struggle actually over? On October 8, President Donald Trump introduced that Israel and Hamas had come to phrases on a deal to stop hostilities and change hostages, one thing that had been largely unthinkable simply weeks prior. “I'm very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have each signed off on the primary Section of our Peace Plan,” the president posted on his Fact Social account. “Which means that ALL of the Hostages shall be launched very quickly, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the primary steps towards a Sturdy, Sturdy, and Eternal Peace.”

<img id="10856533" alt="" caption="US President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 9, 2025. Trump said Thursday he would try to go to Egypt for the signing of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)" captionoverride="President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 9, 2025. Trump said Thursday he would try to go to Egypt for the signing of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)" credit="" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="5576" height="3717" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2239548124.jpg?w=640&quality=75&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2239548124.jpg?w=750&quality=75&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2239548124.jpg?w=1000&quality=75&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2239548124.jpg?w=1200&quality=75&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2239548124.jpg?w=1360&quality=75&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2239548124.jpg?w=1600&quality=75&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2239548124.jpg?w=1600&quality=75&webp=1"/> Grandiose rhetoric apart, the settlement unquestionably represents a seminal achievement—if solely a preliminary one. Implementing it'll require Israel, america, and everybody else to grapple with a variety of variables.

Worldwide Consideration Is Important

It was President Trump’s sustained consideration that broke the long-standing deadlock between Israel and Hamas, forcing each side to make the significant concessions that made this new settlement doable. That, nonetheless, is just the start, as a result of preserving the peace would require ongoing worldwide involvement—and funding.

I've argued that the important thing to a very sustainable “technology after” plan for Gaza entails enhanced safety for Israel, a severe post-war reconstruction marketing campaign, and an intensive deradicalization of the Palestinian inhabitants. None of these issues may be completed by Israel alone, and even with the assist of simply america. Broader worldwide backing, each monetary and sensible, shall be wanted. Which means, at the start, that Israel’s Arab neighbors might want to tackle larger roles when it comes to making certain the Jewish state’s safety and in laying the inspiration for a affluent and average Palestinian populace. At the moment, it’s in no way clear that they're ready to take action.

Palestinian Governance Is Deeply Unsure

The central query in any dialogue of the way forward for Gaza is who will find yourself ruling? Israel has lengthy maintained that Hamas can't play any function in any respect in future Palestinian politics, however the brand new peace deal stops wanting compelling that. As a substitute, it permits the Islamist group to stay an element (albeit a diminished one) within the dialog about Palestinian governance—one thing which will basically upend progress sooner or later.

One other variable is the function of the rival Palestinian Authority (PA), which guidelines the West Financial institution. President Trump’s 20-point plan envisions an eventual function for the PA, following enough reforms. However, after a long time of misrule, the PA is wildly unpopular amongst Palestinians themselves. Mahmoud Abbas, the PA’s president, has did not create a sturdy plan for management succession. His inevitable passage will nearly assure a battle for energy, for political route, and for the soul of the PA itself.

In different phrases, there may be at the moment no clear pathway for political transition in “Palestine”—one thing that's liable to develop into an enormous downside within the months forward.

A New Alternative for the Abraham Accords

Again in 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan (and subsequently Morocco) broke new floor after they formally signed agreements normalizing relations with Israel. 5 years on, these offers—colloquially often known as the Abraham Accords—aren’t precisely thriving. Nonetheless, they're surviving, as officers in Abu Dhabi, Manama, and Rabat quietly advance their financial and political ties to the Jewish state.

Even so, it’s truthful to say that the continued Gaza struggle, and an infected Arab “road,” has made it tough for these states to capitalize on the potential of partnership with Israel. It has additionally dominated out the potential of an growth of the Accords to incorporate different nations, as potential entrants (like Saudi Arabia) have hardened their positions. The brand new Israel-Hamas deal has the potential to vary all that. It successfully wipes the slate clear, establishing no less than a pathway for future Palestinian governance—and thereby offering a cause for these nations to take a second have a look at the feasibility, and desirability, of normalization with Israel.

Iran Stays a Spoiler

For many years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has sought to make use of Palestinian proxies as a software to disrupt and destabilize Israel. The fruits of this darkish imaginative and prescient, and the fruit of ongoing Iranian monetary and logistical assist, was the audacious marketing campaign of terror carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. As has develop into abundantly clear since, that effort was half of a bigger Iranian plan to assault the Jewish state concurrently on a number of fronts.

These ambitions proceed unabated. Simply hours after information of the ceasefire broke, it was reported that Israel’s inner safety service, the Shin Guess, had apprehended a cargo of superior Iranian weaponry destined for militants within the West Financial institution. The implications are unmistakable: Iran, having misplaced leverage over one a part of the Palestinian “area” because of Israeli victories towards Hamas in Gaza, is in search of to make inroads by stoking instability elsewhere. If it succeeds in doing so, it'll undermine the delicate establishment that has now been struck and plunge Israel and the Palestinians again into battle.

For all these challenges, the present temper—each in Washington and in Jerusalem—is one in all cautious optimism. To make certain, the sensible hurdles to a complete peace deal are legion. So, too, are the challenges of making something resembling long-term stability, for each Israelis and Palestinians.

Even so, for the primary time in two years, the start of the tip of the present battle is likely to be in sight. Or, no less than, the tip of the start might be.