Israel and Hamas have reached a fragile ceasefire agreement as the first tentative step towards ending two years of devastating conflict in Gaza. The Israeli government endorsed the US-brokered deal late on Thursday, October 9, 2025, as it brought an immediate ceasefire into effect while working out a framework for releasing hostages and exchanging prisoners. President Trump said Israeli captives would be released within a week, and the deal would be in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops to agreed-upon positions and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The Trump administration successfully uses unprecedented diplomatic pressure
The ceasefire breakthrough came about after intensive negotiations under the leadership of Donald Trump’s special envoy on the issue, Steve Witkoff, and the US President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who went to Sharm el-Sheikh to finalize the agreement. Trump went so far as to personally bond his personal commitment as guarantor to his Arab mediators, calling key interlocutors spontaneously by phone to demonstrate his commitment to the success of the deal.
The president asked his negotiators to “get it done” before he left for Egypt, giving them full power to make necessary compromises. Senior US officials admitted the arrangement was still fragile, with the risk that it could break down amid mutual distrust between Hamas and Israel, necessitating sustained American pressure for it to be implemented.
The US puts 200 troops in for monitoring operations
The United States will set up a civil-military coordination center in Israel, in which about 200 service members will be employed, specializing in transportation, planning, security, logistics, and engineering. These troops will join soldiers from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE for oversight, but officials emphasized there would be no US forces going into Gaza directly.
Hamas calls for a formal declaration of war before release
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said a “formal declaration” of an end to the war needed to be made before hostage releases could begin (a significant condition that has not previously been so emphasized). The group’s chief negotiator claimed to have received guarantees from the US and other mediators that the first phase would lead to permanent war termination.
Hamas called the agreement “a victory for resistance and steadfastness,” and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked the American negotiating team for their efforts. The deal includes the release of all the hostages, living and dead, withdrawal of the Israeli forces to predetermined positions, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Humanitarian crisis calls for a massive surge of aid on a moment’s notice
UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher announced that 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine, and supplies are ready to be deployed immediately into Gaza. Two years of military activity and destruction of Israeli civilization, as well as Israeli restrictions, had forced the humanitarian situation to become catastrophic, leading to a famine declaration.
Implementation challenges pose a threat to long-term success
Despite approval from the government, it is still questionable whether or not Netanyahu has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to stop firing. The key to the success of the agreement lies in solving outstanding issues, such as prisoner exchange lists and the lack of sustained commitment between the two sides for so many years.
While a strenuous and intensive diplomatic intervention by Donald Trump led to initial agreement, the implementation of the deal is facing serious challenges, such as ongoing violence, mutual distrust, and complex prisoner exchange agreements. The commitment of international monitoring forces and massive preparations for humanitarian aid reflect the commitment of the world to peace, but sustained American pressure will be required to keep this tentative step from collapsing back into renewed warfare.