End of Gaza Conflict Offers Real Relief, Yet the US President's Assurance of a Golden Age Rings Hollow

The respite following the ceasefire in Gaza is immense. In Israel, the freeing of the living hostages has led to widespread elation. In Gaza and the West Bank, jubilations are also underway as as many as 2,000 Palestinian inmates are being freed – though concern lingers due to uncertainty about which prisoners are returning and their eventual placements. Across northern Gaza, people can finally return to sift through wreckage for the remnants of an approximated 10,000 missing people.

Peace Breakthrough Despite Previous Doubts

Only three weeks ago, the likelihood of a ceasefire appeared remote. 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 conference of more than 20 world leaders, among them Sir Keir Starmer. The diplomatic roadmap initiated there is set to advance at a assembly in the UK. The US president, cooperating with international partners, successfully brokered this deal come to fruition – contrary to, not owing to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dreams of Independence Moderated by Past Precedents

Expectations that the deal marks the first step toward Palestinian statehood are comprehensible – but, considering previous instances, somewhat optimistic. It offers no clear path to independence for Palestinians and threatens dividing, for the foreseeable future, Gaza from the West Bank. Then there is the utter devastation this war has caused. The lack of any schedule for Palestinian autonomy in Mr Trump’s plan contradicts vainglorious references, in his Knesset speech, to the “epochal beginning” of a “age of abundance”.

The US president was unable to refrain from dividing and making personal the deal in his speech.

In a period of ease – with the liberation of detainees, halt in fighting and resumption of aid – he opted to reframe it as a morality play in which he exclusively reinstated Israel’s honor after purported treachery by former US presidents Obama and Biden. This despite the Biden administration previously having attempted a similar deal: a truce tied to humanitarian access and ultimate diplomatic discussions.

Genuine Autonomy Vital for Legitimate Peace

A proposal that refuses one side substantive control is incapable of delivering authentic resolution. The ceasefire and humanitarian convoys are to be welcomed. But this is not currently political progress. Without processes securing Palestinian participation and command over their own establishments, any deal threatens freezing domination under the rhetoric of peace.

Aid Necessities and Recovery Hurdles

Gaza’s people urgently require emergency support – and sustenance and pharmaceuticals must be the initial concern. But rebuilding must not be delayed. Within 60 million tonnes of rubble, Palestinians need support restoring dwellings, schools, medical centers, mosques and other organizations destroyed by Israel’s invasion. For Gaza’s transitional administration to succeed, financial support must be disbursed rapidly and safety deficiencies be remedied.

Comparable with a great deal of Donald Trump's peace plan, mentions to an multinational security contingent and a suggested “board of peace” are worryingly ambiguous.

Global Backing and Future Prospects

Robust global backing for the Gaza's governing body, allowing it to take over from Hamas, is likely the most hopeful scenario. The enormous suffering of the previous 24 months means the moral case for a settlement to the conflict is potentially more pressing than ever. But even as the halt in fighting, the homecoming of the detainees and vow by Hamas to “demilitarise” Gaza should be recognized as favorable developments, the president's record offers minimal cause to believe he will deliver – or feel bound to endeavor. Immediate respite should not be interpreted as that the prospect of a Palestinian state has been moved nearer.