The Israel-Palestine conflict, or the Gaza War, reignited on Oct. 7, 2023. The conflict has been going on for more than a century, since 1917 when Britain took control of Palestine after World War I. Under the British Mandate, tensions grew between Jewish immigrants, who were fleeing persecution, and the Arab population. After Britain withdrew and Israel declared independence in 1948, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced, setting the stage for decades of conflict.
The same conflict continues in Gaza today. On Oct. 7, 2023, the situation severely escalated when Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement which has governed the territory since 2007, launched a large-scale attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking around 200 hostages. In response to Hamas’s attack, Israel began a full-scale military offensive on Gaza, launching airstrikes and an invasion that has displaced most of the population and killed thousands of Palestinians.
On Oct. 8,,over two years after the attack, United States President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire. The ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is part of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan.
The plan proposes that if Hamas returns all 48 of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel jails, and both sides agree to the terms, the war would immediately end and a ceasefire would take effect. It also states that, once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 prisoners who were sentenced for life, and 1,700 Gazans who have been detained since Oct. 7, 2023. Once it is fully agreed upon, full aid will also be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip.
Once the ceasefire is enacted, the plan then proposes that Gaza will begin focusing on rebuilding its economy. Gaza will also be governed under a neutral Palestinian committee who will be responsible for managing the essential, daily and local government services for the citizens of Gaza. The committee will also be headed and chaired by Trump as well as supervised by international experts.
It also mentions that Hamas may not have any role in governing Gaza “directly, indirectly, or in any form.” Gaza will undergo a process of demilitarization under the supervision of international and independent monitors.
Once the plan is in motion, those who wish to leave Gaza may do so and are free to return, and whoever wishes to stay is encouraged to help build a better Gaza.
On Oct. 13, Hamas released all 20 of the Israeli captives as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. However, even after the ceasefire agreement was announced, Israel continued its attacks in Gaza. On Oct. 9, Israel killed 9 Palestinians and wounded dozens after several attacks on Gaza. These attacks have raised concerns among Palestinians and humanitarian groups that, despite the ceasefire, the conflict has yet to end.
Israel has also refused to release Marwan Barghouti, a well-known Palestinian prisoner whom Israel arrested in 2002 after he was accused of being a key leader of the Second Palestinian Intifada and responsible for organizing and directing numerous attacks against Israeli citizens and soldiers.
A few days after the attack, on Oct. 12, a prominent Palestinian activist and journalist, Saleh al-Jafarawi, was killed in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood. He was shot multiple times while he was covering the clashes in Gaza city between Hamas fighters and an armed group that was said to be backed by Israel.
Despite the ceasefire agreement and ongoing efforts to push for peace, many Palestinians, along with people around the world, are questioning whether Trump’s plan can ensure lasting stability in Gaza.
