<p>United States President Donald Trump is on a highly significant, eight-hour whirlwind diplomatic visit to Israel and Egypt to mark the ceasefire and advance the second phase of the 20-point comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, which he presented on September 29.</p>.<p>Markedly, just before Trump arrived at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Hamas handed over seven of the 20 living hostages to the Red Cross. The remaining 13 have since been released. The trip was tightly scheduled to coincide with the release of the hostages, followed by Trump’s address to the Knesset, a meeting with the families of the hostages, and a visit thereafter to Sharm el-Sheikh for the US-Egyptian-led peace summit.</p>.<p>The return of the hostages after two years in captivity has triggered an outpouring of emotion and celebrations in Israel. At a rally in the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv two days ago, the US envoy Steve Witkoff was greeted warmly, with the crowd thanking President Trump effusively, but booing at the mention of PM Netanyahu, highlighting the deep divisions in Israel on his handling of the war.</p>.<p>The nature and context of the celebrations in Gaza were starkly different. In Israel, the reaction was characterised by overwhelming relief, joy, and emotional fulfillment over the imminent return of the remaining captives; in Gaza, the reaction was a mixture of jubilation, profound relief, and deep caution, born from two years of immense suffering.</p>.<p>The displaced population of Gaza has started returning to their destroyed homes. While humanitarian aid has commenced, the expectation is that UN agencies will soon be allowed to provide sustained and urgently-needed aid. Implementation of the first phase of the plan has moved rather swiftly on the ground, since Hamas’ acceptance of the plan, albeit with reservations.</p>.<p>“The government has now approved the outline for the release of all abductees – living and dead,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement after the cabinet voted on it in the early hours of Friday morning. Trump had sent his envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to Israel to ensure a positive outcome. The ceasefire came into effect as of Friday, and soon thereafter, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) withdrew to the agreed-upon, designated line within Gaza. After this partial withdrawal, 53% of the territory of Gaza continues to remain under the control of the IDF, compared to about 80% earlier.</p>.<p>Israel is committed to releasing 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 other detainees. Hamas insisted on the release of Marwan Barghouti, a leader of Fatah, a rival political party that effectively controls the Palestinian Authority (PA), representing the State of Palestine. Barghouti is widely seen as capable of uniting the fragmented Palestinian factions and a potential successor to the current PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who is perceived as ineffective. His release would allow Hamas to claim credit for liberating a national hero, thereby elevating it in the eyes of Palestinians, but Israel has rejected the proposal, precisely for these reasons.</p>.<p>Other significant differences remain. Hamas insists on full withdrawal of the IDF and emphasises that the present agreement constitutes “an end to the war on Gaza”. However, for a full withdrawal, Israel would insist on Hamas’ disarmament and destruction of its military infrastructure, including the tunnel network. For PM Netanyahu, the deal provided a temporary pause to get the hostages released. Five of his cabinet colleagues from the two far-right parties on whom he depends for political survival voted against the cabinet decision, criticising the release of Palestinian prisoners and the ceasefire.</p>.<p>The past isn’t promising</p>.<p>There is a possibility that Israel may violate the agreement as it did in the past. The Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement concluded in January this year collapsed in two months as both parties were fundamentally unable to bridge the gap between their irreconcilable core demands. Secondly, in the context of Lebanon, Israel has continued to carry out aerial and drone strikes, claiming that the actions are necessary for self-defence and to target immediate threats, despite its November 2024 ceasefire agreement.</p>.<p>Hamas, however, has a card up its sleeve, which is the return of the mortal remains of the 28 hostages. While the Trump plan stipulated an immediate release of all the hostages, both dead and living, Hamas has claimed that due to the massive destruction in Gaza, the process of locating and retrieving the remains of the dead hostages may require more time and unimpeded access across the Strip than the 72-hour window allows. This gives tactical advantage to Hamas to prolong the ceasefire.</p>.<p>Implementation of the second phase will be even more difficult given the diametrically opposite views of Israel and Hamas shared by the Arab countries. But the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit co-hosted by President Trump and President el-Sisi, attended by many Arab, Islamic, and European leaders at the level of Heads of States and governments, is intended to finalise the international framework for the subsequent phases of the Trump plan.</p>.<p>Another positive takeaway is that the Gulf countries are more proactively engaged this time. Their influence on Washington and the intolerance for the continued offensive on Gaza could sustain the plan. Significantly, Trump, before landing in Tel Aviv, declared that the two-year war in Gaza “is over”. The fate of the region would depend on the president staying the course.</p>.<p><em>(The writer is a former ambassador of India to Egypt and former <br>Permanent Representative of India to the Arab League)</em></p><p><em>Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.</em></p>
<p>United States President Donald Trump is on a highly significant, eight-hour whirlwind diplomatic visit to Israel and Egypt to mark the ceasefire and advance the second phase of the 20-point comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, which he presented on September 29.</p>.<p>Markedly, just before Trump arrived at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Hamas handed over seven of the 20 living hostages to the Red Cross. The remaining 13 have since been released. The trip was tightly scheduled to coincide with the release of the hostages, followed by Trump’s address to the Knesset, a meeting with the families of the hostages, and a visit thereafter to Sharm el-Sheikh for the US-Egyptian-led peace summit.</p>.<p>The return of the hostages after two years in captivity has triggered an outpouring of emotion and celebrations in Israel. At a rally in the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv two days ago, the US envoy Steve Witkoff was greeted warmly, with the crowd thanking President Trump effusively, but booing at the mention of PM Netanyahu, highlighting the deep divisions in Israel on his handling of the war.</p>.<p>The nature and context of the celebrations in Gaza were starkly different. In Israel, the reaction was characterised by overwhelming relief, joy, and emotional fulfillment over the imminent return of the remaining captives; in Gaza, the reaction was a mixture of jubilation, profound relief, and deep caution, born from two years of immense suffering.</p>.<p>The displaced population of Gaza has started returning to their destroyed homes. While humanitarian aid has commenced, the expectation is that UN agencies will soon be allowed to provide sustained and urgently-needed aid. Implementation of the first phase of the plan has moved rather swiftly on the ground, since Hamas’ acceptance of the plan, albeit with reservations.</p>.<p>“The government has now approved the outline for the release of all abductees – living and dead,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement after the cabinet voted on it in the early hours of Friday morning. Trump had sent his envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to Israel to ensure a positive outcome. The ceasefire came into effect as of Friday, and soon thereafter, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) withdrew to the agreed-upon, designated line within Gaza. After this partial withdrawal, 53% of the territory of Gaza continues to remain under the control of the IDF, compared to about 80% earlier.</p>.<p>Israel is committed to releasing 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 other detainees. Hamas insisted on the release of Marwan Barghouti, a leader of Fatah, a rival political party that effectively controls the Palestinian Authority (PA), representing the State of Palestine. Barghouti is widely seen as capable of uniting the fragmented Palestinian factions and a potential successor to the current PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who is perceived as ineffective. His release would allow Hamas to claim credit for liberating a national hero, thereby elevating it in the eyes of Palestinians, but Israel has rejected the proposal, precisely for these reasons.</p>.<p>Other significant differences remain. Hamas insists on full withdrawal of the IDF and emphasises that the present agreement constitutes “an end to the war on Gaza”. However, for a full withdrawal, Israel would insist on Hamas’ disarmament and destruction of its military infrastructure, including the tunnel network. For PM Netanyahu, the deal provided a temporary pause to get the hostages released. Five of his cabinet colleagues from the two far-right parties on whom he depends for political survival voted against the cabinet decision, criticising the release of Palestinian prisoners and the ceasefire.</p>.<p>The past isn’t promising</p>.<p>There is a possibility that Israel may violate the agreement as it did in the past. The Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement concluded in January this year collapsed in two months as both parties were fundamentally unable to bridge the gap between their irreconcilable core demands. Secondly, in the context of Lebanon, Israel has continued to carry out aerial and drone strikes, claiming that the actions are necessary for self-defence and to target immediate threats, despite its November 2024 ceasefire agreement.</p>.<p>Hamas, however, has a card up its sleeve, which is the return of the mortal remains of the 28 hostages. While the Trump plan stipulated an immediate release of all the hostages, both dead and living, Hamas has claimed that due to the massive destruction in Gaza, the process of locating and retrieving the remains of the dead hostages may require more time and unimpeded access across the Strip than the 72-hour window allows. This gives tactical advantage to Hamas to prolong the ceasefire.</p>.<p>Implementation of the second phase will be even more difficult given the diametrically opposite views of Israel and Hamas shared by the Arab countries. But the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit co-hosted by President Trump and President el-Sisi, attended by many Arab, Islamic, and European leaders at the level of Heads of States and governments, is intended to finalise the international framework for the subsequent phases of the Trump plan.</p>.<p>Another positive takeaway is that the Gulf countries are more proactively engaged this time. Their influence on Washington and the intolerance for the continued offensive on Gaza could sustain the plan. Significantly, Trump, before landing in Tel Aviv, declared that the two-year war in Gaza “is over”. The fate of the region would depend on the president staying the course.</p>.<p><em>(The writer is a former ambassador of India to Egypt and former <br>Permanent Representative of India to the Arab League)</em></p><p><em>Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.</em></p>
