On January 19th, 2025, Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire agreement. No sooner than the ink was dry, Donald Trump was on social media, gloating about his role in the negotiations. “This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media network. For a brief moment in time, it seemed somewhat well earned. Biden officials and diplomats alike credited Steve Witkoff’s efforts. In return for the release of 33 hostages, Israel would release 1904 Palestinian security prisoners, exit portions of the Gaza strip, and allow “sufficient” humanitarian aid through. The start of a 3 phase plan, this was a welcomed step in the right direction. For an incredibly brief, miniscule amount of time, it looked like Donald Trump had got a big win before taking over.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
shake hands at a museum in Jerusalem, May 23, 2017 [Sebastian
Scheiner/AP Photo]
Like most things Donald Trump attempts to sell, further inspection revealed significant faults. First, some of the most powerful political parties in Israel actively wanted the war to continue. Sure enough, the day the ceasefire was signed, Itamar Ben-Gvir quit his post in Netanyahu’s cabinet. If more resignations were to come, as they were threatened to, Netanyahu could lose his parliamentary majority, potentially forcing elections to be held. After Trump signalled that he wanted to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip entirely, it was clear the ceasefire as originally negotiated was not long for this world.
After meeting with Netanyahu and doubling down on the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, Hamas suspended the release of the hostages on February 10th. While reaffirming their commitment to the ceasefire, Hamas questioned Israel’s, and accused the state of not upholding their end of the deal. Although Hamas would revoke that suspension on February 13th, with Netanyahu dodging the 2nd round of negotiations, it appeared Hamas was correct in their assessment. Netanyahu would continue to skirt his promises, and tensions would continue to rise.
After a couple of weeks of continued hostage/prisoner exchanges and escalatory statements from Donald Trump, March 1st arrived and the ceasefire was scheduled to end. Following Hama’s rejection of a US led proposal to extend the ceasefire into Ramadan and Passover, Israel blocked humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The humanitarian aid blockade was condemned by mediators Egypt and Qatar, as well as the United Nations, as a violation of the ceasefire, which stipulated that phase one would automatically be extended as long as phase two negotiations were in progress.
An Israeli air strike on the southern city of Khan Younis. Getty
Images.
On March 9th, Israeli energy minister Eli Cohen ordered to halt supply of Israeli electricity to Gaza. Having lost a significant chunk of their leadership and a good portion of their goodwill with Palestinians, Hamas said that it agreed to a proposal from mediators to release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and the bodies of four dual national hostages on March 14th. Israel and the US rejected the offer, Israel claiming that Hamas was intending to sabotage the negotiations.
Finally, on March 18th, Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. Israel claimed that they were striking dozens of Hamas targets, and Netanyahu stated a lack of progress in ceasefire talks was the reasoning behind the strikes. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 400 Palestinians were killed. Thought to be part of an expanding offensive, Netanyahu confirmed Israel’s intent in a televised address. Netanyahu stated “This was only the beginning” and that future ceasefire negotiations would “only take place under fire.”
Senior Hamas figure Salah al-Bardaweel, pictured here in 2015, was
killed in Khan Younis.
With the death toll officially exceeding 50,000 (according to Gaza Health Ministry officials), there seems to be no end in sight to this conflict. Just this morning, Israel killed Hamas’ top ranking leader, Salah al-Bardaweel. While Donald Trump continues to embolden Netanyahu’s regime, America’s place on the world stage continues it’s downward fall. And most importantly, people are going to suffer as a result.