A Glimmer of Hope: Ceasefire in Gaza

Photo by Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

As we pass the two year anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, when 1200 Israelis were killed and 250 abducted, a ceasefire has been tentatively agreed between Israel and Hamas. 

Since that day, the Palestinian death toll has dwarfed the Israeli casualties, with over 67,000 people killed, and nearly a third have been children. That 67,000 figure means that 1 out of every 33 people living in Palestine before October 7, 2023, has been killed. 

The Gaza Ministry of Health counts the deaths based on people brought to hospitals or officially recorded. The true number of deaths is likely higher, as this does not account for the many missing people or people who died beneath the rubble.

However, for the first time in months, there is hope in the otherwise bleak humanitarian situation in Gaza. The first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is underway. After negotiations in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, mediated by Egypt, the United States, Qatar, and Turkey, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his peace plan. 

Images of Palestinians, as well as relatives of the hostages(48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive), celebrating the ceasefire are inspiring hope around the world. 

World leaders have praised the agreements and urged their terms to be implemented as soon as possible. During the course of the war, previous attempts at ceasefires have broken down, including in November 2023 (both sides blame each other for the diplomatic failure) and in January 2025, when a surprise attack by Israel in March broke the ceasefire. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed support for the ceasefire.

“This is a moment of profound relief that will be felt all around the world, but particularly for the hostages, their families, and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years. 

“This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Trump’s twenty-point plan includes several terms that go against Israel’s “red lines” and whose completion is uncertain. For example, the agreement says that Hamas will disarm, and members who accept “peaceful coexistence” with Israel will be granted amnesty, but Israel has stated its goal of destroying Hamas, not granting amnesty or allowing safe passage out of the strip.

Similarly, the plan says that Israeli troops, who currently occupy Palestinian land, will be replaced by a third-party international security force, and eventually by Palestinian police. Israel, on the other hand, says it must retain “security control” of Gaza, and it is unclear whether Israel will accept relinquishing this power.

For Palestinians, this ceasefire means the potential for an end to a brutal, genocidal war that has caused mass starvation, displacement, and death. For Israelis, it means the return of the hostages to their families, even if, tragically, that just means returning the remains of those who died in captivity. For those around the world, it means the resolution of a conflict that has become increasingly unpopular as it has worn on. 

If all goes according to plan, the hostages could all be returned as early as next week, and the ceasefire could continue accordingly. We can only watch and hope that the end to this terrible conflict is brought about smoothly and completely.