Israel and Hamas take significant step towards lasting peace

All 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas and 1,900+ Palestinian prisoners held by Israel walked free yesterday morning, under a landmark ceasefire deal agreed to last week.

The deal, which paused two years of war in Gaza, was formally signed by President Trump and other world leaders at a summit in Egypt yesterday afternoon.

Quick background: The war began in October 2023, when Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel that killed ~1,200 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in 251 Israelis being taken hostage.

• Israel immediately launched a retaliatory offensive that has killed ~67,000 Palestinians to date, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants.
• The war has also destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced ~90% of the region’s 2+ million residents.

But for now, the conflict is over

While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the new ceasefire deal has resulted in leaders from both Israel and Hamas publicly saying the two-year-long war has officially concluded.

• The exchange of hostages and prisoners on Monday marked phase two of a 20-point peace deal proposed last week by President Trump, which was agreed to by Israel.
• Hamas has conditionally agreed on the broad outline of Trump’s plan, but hasn’t accepted other specific issues within the deal.

Trump flew to the Middle East and addressed the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on Monday, before heading to Egypt hours later for the summit to sign the deal and discuss postwar plans.

Looking ahead…Future negotiations between Israel and Hamas will have to tackle the remaining issues called for in Trump’s plan. These include the dismantling of all Hamas military infrastructure, the eventual full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and transferring governance of Gaza from Hamas to an interim Palestinian administration overseen by a Trump-led international council.