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The respite resulting from the ceasefire in Gaza is immense. Across Israel, the freeing of surviving detainees has resulted in broad celebration. In Gaza and the West Bank, jubilations are also underway as up to 2,000 Palestinian inmates are being freed – although anguish lingers due to doubt about who is being freed and where they will be sent. In northern Gaza, civilians can at last reenter sift through wreckage for the bodies of an approximated 10,000 those who have disappeared.

Truce Development Contrary to Previous Doubts

Just three weeks ago, the chance of a ceasefire seemed unlikely. However it has taken effect, and on Monday Donald Trump departed Jerusalem, where he was cheered in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he participated in a prestigious peace conference of over 20 world leaders, featuring Sir Keir Starmer. The peace initiative initiated there is scheduled to proceed at a conference in the UK. The US president, working alongside international partners, managed to secure this deal take place – regardless of, not because of, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian Statehood Hopes Moderated by Previous Experiences

Aspirations that the deal signifies the first step toward Palestinian statehood are reasonable – but, given previous instances, slightly idealistic. It provides no definite route to self-rule for Palestinians and endangers dividing, for the near term, Gaza from the West Bank. Additionally the total ruin this war has caused. The absence of any timeframe for Palestinian self-governance in Mr Trump’s plan gives the lie to self-aggrandizing mentions, in his Knesset speech, to the “epochal beginning” of a “era of prosperity”.

The US president could not help himself sowing division and personalising the deal in his speech.

In a moment of relief – with the hostage release, halt in fighting and renewal of aid – he opted to reframe it as a lesson in ethics in which he solely reinstated Israel’s dignity after purported betrayal by past US commanders-in-chief Obama and Biden. Notwithstanding the Biden administration twelve months prior having attempted a comparable agreement: a cessation of hostilities linked to aid delivery and future negotiations.

Genuine Autonomy Vital for Sustainable Agreement

A proposal that withholds one side meaningful agency cannot yield sustainable agreement. The ceasefire and aid trucks are to be applauded. But this is not yet policy development. Without mechanisms securing Palestinian participation and command over their own organizations, any deal risks perpetuating subjugation under the discourse of peace.

Humanitarian Priorities and Recovery Hurdles

Gaza’s people desperately need emergency support – and sustenance and pharmaceuticals must be the initial concern. But reconstruction must not be delayed. Amid 60 million tonnes of debris, Palestinians need support reconstructing residences, learning institutions, medical centers, religious buildings and other organizations devastated by Israel’s incursion. For Gaza’s transitional administration to thrive, financial support must flow quickly and protection voids be addressed.

Like a large portion of the president's diplomatic proposal, allusions to an global peacekeeping unit and a proposed “board of peace” are disturbingly unclear.

International Support and Prospective Outcomes

Robust global backing for the Gaza's governing body, enabling it to take over from Hamas, is perhaps the most encouraging prospect. The immense hardship of the previous 24 months means the humanitarian imperative for a solution to the conflict is potentially more urgent than ever. But while the halt in fighting, the homecoming of the detainees and commitment by Hamas to “remove weapons from” Gaza should be accepted as constructive moves, Donald Trump's record gives little reason to trust he will deliver – or deem himself compelled to endeavor. Short-term relief does not mean that the possibility of a Palestinian state has been brought closer.