Is the War Almost Over? 🇮🇱🎗️🇵🇸

Trump's got a peace proposal. Will Hamas accept?

Two years since the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust—and the ongoing devastation in Gaza— I’ve run out of meaningful things to say. Consuming non-stop horror on our screens, every day, for two years will do that to you. It has definitely snapped something in our brains.

There are still 48 hostages in Hamas captivity. Their families who speak out have a strength that humbles anyone paying attention.

You have Rachel Goldberg-Polin, who still continues to speak out for the hostages even after her own son, Hersh, was murdered in the tunnels along with five others known as the “Beautiful 6.”

I’m in awe of all the hostages and their families who have the strength and emotional fortitude to share their stories after all they’ve suffered and lost.

Eli Sharabi (53) survived 491 days in Hamas captivity — chained underground, starved, and beaten in Gaza’s tunnels. He lost over 66 pounds, dropping to just 97 pounds, and spent months in near-total darkness, shackled to other hostages, including while using the toilet. Surviving that is hard enough. To be freed and learn his wife Lian and daughters Noya (16) and Yahel (13) were murdered on October 7, along with his brother Yossi, who was killed in captivity, is a cruel welcome home. Yet, somehow, he’s standing tall again — publishing a memoir, Hostage, which is out in the U.S. today.

“I’m very positive the life I’m going to rebuild,” Sharabi told CBS News. “I love life.”

It’s almost impossible to understand how someone who endured what he did could say those words.

While a hostage, he had his ribs broken, leaving him unable to breathe properly for two or three months.

His interview feels almost supernatural to watch — a man who has lived through the worst hell imaginable, expressing something close to grace. Where his inner resolve comes from, I don’t know. He’s clearly built differently.

Peace Deal In the Making?

Somehow, against all odds, Donald Trump might be able to broker a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The same man who once stared directly at a solar eclipse and suggested drinking bleach could fight COVID is now, in his own words, “pretty sure” he’s going to end the war. And he just might.

If he can bring a close to this horribly painful chapter in human history, he may even win a Nobel Peace Prize. For real. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum sent a letter to the Nobel nominating committee urging them to award him. If the vanity of a Nobel Prize is the motivation Trump needs to pressure Hamas and Netanyahu to strike a deal, then by all means.

Trump says Hamas has been “fine” to work with, which in Trump-speak is one adjective away from “great guys, tremendous people.”

If you ignore his incoherent nonsense, like him saying “They’ve been trying to have a deal with Gaza literally for centuries”(sir… are we talking about Moses??), there might be a sliver of hope.

If Trump is successful, it might just be because of what a bully he is. Yair Rosenberg in The Atlantic writes:

In short, Trump successfully bullied Netanyahu—and if this latest round of talks is going to get results, he’ll need to do more of it. That’s because despite the president’s confident proclamations of peace for our time, a deal is far from assured. Hamas can easily blow up the fragile process by refusing to release all of the hostages, or otherwise reneging on its hazy commitments to Trump and the mediating states. The terrorist group is reportedly divided between its leaders abroad who want to agree to Trump’s terms and its leaders in Gaza who do not. At the same time, Netanyahu is already facing a mutiny among the far-right members of his coalition, who want to ethnically cleanse and resettle Gaza, and are threatening to bring down his government if the war ends. Today, Trump is the only actor who can provide a counterweight to these radicals and compel Netanyahu to make different choices by changing his incentives. As he showed this weekend, the president holds incredible leverage over the Israeli leader—he just needs to use it.

Here is Trump’s 20 Point Plan for Gaza. Honestly, it seems very reasonable, even aspirational. It’s been embraced by Qatar—which hosts Hamas’ top leadership—and the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, among several other countries in the Middle East. Judge for yourself.

1. Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.

2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.

3. If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.

4. Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.

5. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.

6. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.

7. Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.

8. Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025 agreement.

9. Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace,” which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.

10. A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.

11. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.

12. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.

13. Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.

14. A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and the factions, comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbors or its people.

15. The United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent munitions from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties.

16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.

17. In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.

18. An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace.

19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.

20. The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.

It’s hard to see Hamas agreeing to surrender and hand over control of Gaza after two decades of terror, but this roadmap is the kind of aspiration worth believing in.