Whereas President Donald Trump has declared the Israel-Hamas conflict over, some Center East specialists say the method to finish the two-year battle is simply starting.
Monday’s historic release of the remaining dwelling Israeli hostages in Gaza and the simultaneous launch of greater than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners that had been held by Israel is simply a part of step one of Trump’s 20-point plan to convey peace to the area.
“After so a few years of unceasing conflict and infinite hazard, right this moment the skies are calm, the weapons are silent, the sirens are nonetheless, and the solar rises on a Holy Land that’s lastly at peace, a land and a area that can reside, God prepared, in peace for all eternity,” Trump mentioned in a speech on Monday to the Israeli parliament.
President Donald Trump talks with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem.
Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Trump added, “This isn’t solely the tip of a conflict, that is the tip of an age of terror and loss of life and the start of the age of religion and hope and of God. It is the beginning of a grand harmony of lasting concord for Israel and all of the nations of what is going to quickly be an impressive area.”
Whereas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been hesitant to publicly say the conflict with Hamas was over, he mentioned throughout a speech that preceded Trump’s deal with that he’s “dedicated to this peace.”
Household and pals of hostage Elkana Bohbot react as they’re gathering to look at his launch from Hamas captivity, October 13, 2025 in Mevaseret Zion, Israel.
Amir Levy/Getty Photos
“Mr. President, right this moment we welcome you right here to thanks on your pivotal management in placing ahead a proposal that received the backing of just about your entire world, a proposal that brings all our hostages house, a proposal that ends the conflict by reaching all our aims, a proposal that opens the door to a historic growth of peace in our area and past our area,” Netanyahu mentioned.
Freed Palestinian prisoners look out of a bus after they have been launched by Israel as a part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis within the southern Gaza Strip, October 13, 2025.
Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
“Mr. President, you’re dedicated to this peace. I’m dedicated to this peace and, collectively, Mr. President, we are going to obtain this peace,” the prime minister mentioned.
President Donald Trump listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he addresses the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025.
Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Following his go to to Israel, Trump flew to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for a peace summit he co-chaired with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the place the official signing ceremony of his ceasefire proposal occurred Monday afternoon.
Opening the summit, el-Sisi praised Trump for brokering a peace deal that’s helpful to your entire area. He invited Trump to “be a part of the peace lovers’ leaders, leaders who advocate for peace on this planet.”
“At this historic milestone, the place we’re all collectively, [and] witnessed the reaching of this Sham el-Sheikh settlement on ending conflict in Gaza,” el-Sisi mentioned.
He went on to name the settlement “a glimpse of hope that such [a] deal ends an agonizing chapter within the historical past of mankind, and opens the door, ushering in a brand new period of peace and stability within the Center East.”
Consultants mentioned that regardless of the historic preliminary phases of the peace proposal being executed, the assembly in Egypt, which included greater than 20 world leaders, is the place tough subsequent steps start.
Michael Ratney, the previous U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia below the Biden administration, mentioned that whereas it is laborious to not get caught up within the emotion of the celebrations over the hostage and prisoner releases, there’s a lengthy approach to go earlier than peace is achieved.
“I might wish to say it was peace. It is not peace but,” Ratney advised ABC Information on Monday. “There’s a number of work, and that features most of the measures which can be on that 20-point plan that the White Home launched.”
Sources accustomed to the negotiations advised ABC Information that agreements nonetheless must be reached on a number of the most tough factors of the plan. These embody the whole withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, Hamas ceding management of Gaza, disarming and decommissioning the militant group, and turning Gaza’s governance over to a global trusteeship overseen by the U.S. and Arab allies.
“I don’t know if it’s an impediment, however definitely a problem. And considered one of them proper now’s going to be the method below which Hamas is demilitarized and demobilized as a terrorist group or as a militant group,” Javid Ali, a former senior director for counterterrorism on the Nationwide Safety Council, advised ABC Information on Monday.
Whereas flying to the Center East in a single day, Trump implied to reporters on Air Power One which Hamas has been given the inexperienced mild to behave as a Palestinian police drive in Gaza “for a time frame.”
“They’re standing as a result of they do need to cease the issues, they usually’ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a time frame,” Trump mentioned.
Palestinian militants stand guard on the day that hostages held in Gaza for the reason that lethal October 7, 2023 assault, are handed over to the Worldwide Committee of the Purple Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, October 13, 2025.
Ramadan Abed/Reuters
He added, “It’s a must to perceive they’ve misplaced in all probability 60,000 folks. That is a number of retribution. They’ve misplaced 60,000 folks, and those which can be dwelling proper now have been, in lots of instances, very younger when this all began, and we’re having a watch that there is not going to be large crime, or a number of the issues that you’ve got when you’ve gotten areas like this which were actually demolished.”
Ali mentioned it is going to take an excessive amount of time earlier than Hamas lays down its weapons as required in Trump’s proposal.
“It is nonetheless not clear who’s going to really oversee that demobilization, demilitarization, whether or not it’s the Israel Protection Forces or this worldwide safety physique that’s nonetheless not comprised and on the bottom,” Ali mentioned.
Ali mentioned there have been different examples all through world historical past of insurgent teams cooperating with peace accords after lengthy intervals of combating. He famous that the Irish Republican Military did so within the late Nineties after an extended wrestle with the British authorities, and that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a guerrilla group also referred to as FARC, agreed to disarm in 2016 after signing a ceasefire accord with the Colombian authorities.
“You actually must account for the fighters, the individuals who would take up arms for these organizations, make sure that they don’t have the weapons and the capabilities to conduct and additional acts of terrorism or militant operations,” Ali mentioned.
An instance of how fragile the ceasefire proposal is arose on Monday when the Hostage Households Discussion board accused Hamas of violating the deal when it launched the stays of solely 4 of the 28 hostages who perished in captivity.
“We count on Israel’s authorities and the mediators to take quick motion to rectify this grave injustice,” the Hostage Households Discussion board mentioned in an announcement.
On Tuesday morning, each Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces accused one another of violating the settlement after IDF troops opened hearth on Palestinians, killing 5.
The IDF alleged the Palestinians violated the ceasefire by crossing the yellow line in Gaza and approaching IDF troopers. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem launched an announcement denying the allegations and accusing the IDF of violating the settlement by attacking the Palestinians with “shelling and gunfire.”
Andrew Miller, senior fellow for the Heart for American Progress, advised ABC Information that there is no such thing as a urge for food among the many worldwide neighborhood for Israel to renew the conflict, particularly now that all the hostages have been launched.
“We have already seen a swell of worldwide opposition to Israel’s operation,” Miller mentioned.
Mick Mulroy, ABC Information’ nationwide safety and protection analyst and a former deputy assistant secretary of protection for the Center East, mentioned the success of the ceasefire plan will depend on either side following via on their guarantees.
“The one method this plan goes to work is that if either side adhere to what they agreed to do,” Mulroy mentioned. “Any of them crumble, and it may problem the remainder of the plan.”
Trump, nonetheless, expressed optimism in his peace summit speech, telling the world leaders gathered in Egypt, “This took 3,000 years to get thus far. Are you able to consider it? And it is going to maintain up too. It’ll maintain up.”
