Last month, in an annual gathering of world leaders in New York in which the Gaza war took center-stage and Israel was often the target. Many Western world leaders recognized Palestinian independence to which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said that they were sending the message that “murdering Jews pays off.” [1]

US President Donald Trump’ 21-point peace plan was presented to some prominent Arab and Muslim countries on the U.N. sidelines. It called for the release of all hostages, living and dead, no further Israeli attacks on Qatar, and a new dialogue between Israel and Palestinians for peaceful coexistence. Israel angered the Qataris and drew criticism from Trump for an airstrike against Hamas leaders in Doha on September 9.

Earlier US-backed ceasefire efforts had fallen apart due to a failure to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas and Netanyahu had vowed to continue fighting until Hamas was completely dismantled. [2]

Later, Trump met Netanyahu at the White House and presented the plan which he accepted. The Trump plan had incorporated many of Israel’s principal demands and was formulated without consulting Hamas.

Netanyahu, who is wanted for alleged war crimes by the international criminal court committed during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, has said Israel would “finish the job” if Hamas rejected the proposal or slowed their implementation. In March, Israel unilaterally broke a two-month ceasefire, refusing to move to a scheduled second phase that could have definitively ended hostilities. [3]

Trump’s proposal required the militants to release all Israeli hostages, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli military forces to a buffer zone along the perimeter, and a surge of humanitarian aid. It also requires Israel to free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many serving life sentences, which Hamas could frame as a significant win.

Another concern for Hamas was the vague promise of Israeli withdrawals, though the clear statement that there will be no annexation or occupation of Gaza by Israel was welcomed by one source close to Hamas.

Hamas has suffered incredibly significant losses in the war. Thousands of fighters have been killed, along with all senior military leaders. At least 40 commanders and key operatives in Hamas’s military wing had been killed by Israeli airstrikes since March. Their deaths have left only one senior commander from Hamas’s pre-October 2023 military council still in command. But Hamas had continued guerrilla operations and kept some governance in the absence of any alternative. Humanitarian officials in Gaza said the group still had a strong presence in Gaza City, the “central camps” farther south and the coastal zone of al-Mawasi. Hamas, which was founded in 1987, had recruited thousands of new fighters. [4]

Meanwhile, Israel faced international condemnation and protests on its genocide and war of aggression in Gaza. Massive demonstrations against Israel genocide in Gaza were held in several cities across the world. On October 2, 2025, its military intercepted all about 40 boats in The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying aid to Gaza and took captive more than 450 foreign activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg. [5]

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in cities across Europe as well as in Karachi, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City to protest Israel's capturing of the activists two years into its assault on Gaza.

Italian unions called a general strike in protest. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he expected the members of the flotilla to be expelled from Israel on very soon and sent to European capitals on charter flights.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan criticized Israeli aggression, saying it showed Israel's government has no intention of letting hopes for peace grow.

The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office said it had launched an investigation into the detention of 24 Turkish citizens on the vessels, Türkiye’s state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged Israel to at once release South Africans who were on the flotilla, including former President Nelson Mandela's grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela.

The activists were expected to be transferred to the immigration authority upon arrival in Ashdod, from where they will be moved to Ketziot Prison in southern Israel before they are deported, said Suhad Bishara, the director at Adalah, a human rights organization and legal center in Israel.

The flotilla, which set sail in late August, was transporting medicine and food to Gaza and consisted of more than 40 civilian vessels with parliamentarians, lawyers and activists in a high-profile display of opposition to Israel's blockade of Gaza, which many have said amounts to violations of the Genocide Convention. Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt.

Israel is defending itself against charges of genocide in the International Court of Justice and broader global opprobrium, arguing its actions have been in self-defense. As the flotilla sailed across the Mediterranean Sea, Türkiye, Spain, and Italy sent boats or drones in case their nationals needed aid, even as it triggered repeated warnings from Israel to turn back.

Israel's navy had previously warned the flotilla it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful blockade, and asked organizers to change course. It had offered to transfer any aid peacefully through safe channels to Gaza.

The flotilla is the latest seaborne attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war.

In a statement, Hamas, which governs Gaza, expressed support for the activists and called Israel's interception of the flotilla a "criminal act", calling for public protests to condemn Israel.

The boats were about 70 nautical miles off Gaza when they were intercepted, inside a zone that Israel is policing to stop any boats approaching. The organizers said their communications, including the use of a live camera feed from some of the boats, had been scrambled. [6]

Israel says it has stopped a pro-Palestinian flotilla carrying aid from reaching Gaza, with its navy intercepting all but one of the vessels trying to breach the blockade. Of the 42 vessels being tracked online by the Global Sumud flotilla (GSF), 41 were listed as having been confirmed or assumed to have been stopped by Israeli forces. Vessels from the flotilla, carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including the Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, were boarded late on Wednesday by Israeli forces about 75 miles off the coast of Gaza.

The goal of the flotilla, which was carrying symbolic humanitarian aid, was to breach the Gaza blockade and establish a maritime corridor into Gaza. It was the first time since Israel imposed a naval blockade on Gaza’s waters in 2009 that an unauthorized humanitarian mission has reached closer than 70 nautical miles from the territory.

Members of the flotilla will be handed over to the police before being transferred to Ketziot prison, a large facility in the Negev desert. Those who refuse deportation will be tried by a special court of interior ministry officials, rather than a regular court, for illegal entry.

Those arrested include nine Irish citizens, including the Sinn Féin senator Chris Andrews, at least two Italian MPs, the French MEP Emma Fourreau, Franciszek Sterczewski, an MP from Poland’s ruling coalition, and a former RAF pilot, Malcolm Ducker, 72, who piloted one of the flotilla’s vessels. [7]

Spontaneous protests broke out across Italy in response to the raid. Protests were also reported in Brussels, Athens, Buenos Aires and Berlin, while the Spanish government called on Israel to protect the safety and rights of activists.

Spain’s labor minister and deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, described the attack on the flotilla as “a crime against international law” and demanded that Israel at once release those it had detained. Writing on Bluesky, she said: “The EU needs to break off relations with Israel right now.” The British government was “very concerned” about Israel’s interception of an international aid flotilla bound for Gaza, adding that it had made clear to Israel that the situation should be resolved safely.

Türkiye’s foreign ministry said the Israeli “attack” on the flotilla was “an act of terror” that endangered the lives of civilians. Israel imposed the naval blockade in 2009, an intensification of its 2007 blockade of Gaza in response to Hamas seizing control of the territory. The UN has condemned the blockade on many occasions, calling it “a direct contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law.”

The flotilla argued it was a civilian, unarmed group and that the passage of humanitarian aid was guaranteed in international law.

Earlier attempts by activists to break the naval blockade on Gaza were stopped by force by the Israeli military. In 2010, 10 Turkish activists were killed by Israeli commandos who raided the Mavi Marmara ship as it led an aid flotilla towards Gaza. [8]

The Israeli military has dismantled an entire humanitarian flotilla looking to break its siege on war-ravaged Gaza, arresting hundreds of activists from dozens of vessels. Earlier, the International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza also announced in a statement that several detainees arrested by Israeli forces had “entered an open-ended hunger strike from the moment of their detention.” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously warned the Marinette that “its attempt to enter an active combat zone and breach the blockade will also be prevented.”

European nations – including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, and Ireland – have also called on Israel to respect the rights of the crew members it has seized. Heun’s special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, has described the interceptions as an “illegal abduction.” Later, many Israel freed detained activist.

Earlier, on October 9, 2025, a ceasefire in Gaza has been officially agreed by both the Israeli government and Hamas. Netanyahu and senior government ministers discussed the plan late into the night before officially signing off on the deal. Trump welcomed the news, saying it is the "first phase" of his peace plan to end the war in Gaza completely. Egypt’s President al-Sisi hosted the talks in his country Representatives of Israel, Hamas, and Arab countries, who helped with working out the details of this deal, have been meeting in Egypt. The meetings were led by the US government, aiming to bring fighting between Israel and Hamas to an end. According to this agreement, Israeli military forces will pull back to an agreed point within Gaza, Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners will be released, and aid will go into Gaza. [9]

Trump called the agreement "a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East.” He added that he thinks it could lead to "lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace". Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said that "The world is witnessing a historic moment, This agreement. opens the door of hope for the peoples of the region".

UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the news, adding that the UN would support the deal, as well as increase its delivery of aid and its reconstruction efforts in Gaza. Charities have also welcomed the news. James Elder, spokesperson for UN children's charity UNICEF, said he sees an "immense amount of relief right now." There is a lot to be done, he says, and today "is a very, very important beginning". Inger Aching, chief of Save the Children, said: "With bombs and bullets silenced, families will be able to think of the future, of rebuilding and recovery."

On October 10, 2025, began to pull back its forces on Friday, as tens of thousands of exhausted Palestinians made their way back to their devastated homes. After two years of brutal war, the families of Israel's remaining hostages in the territory were also hoping the truce would hold.

Israel, meanwhile, published the list of the 250 Palestinian prisoners it plans to release along with 1,700 Gazans detained since Hamas triggered the latest conflict with its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Under the ceasefire deal proposed by Trump, Hamas will hand over 47 remaining hostages — living and dead — from the 251 abducted during the October 7 attack two years ago. The remains of one more hostage, held in Gaza since 2014, are also expected to be returned.

Leaders of Britain, France and Germany urged the UN Security Council to back the plan. Despite celebrations in Israel and Gaza and a flood of congratulatory messages from world leaders, many issues stay unresolved, including Hamas's disarmament and a proposed transitional authority for Gaza led by Trump.

Later, tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza began to return to the ruins of their homes. The conflict has destroyed or damaged more than 90% of homes in Gaza and all infrastructure. Everyone in the territory has been displaced many times. Malnutrition is rife across all of Gaza, and there is famine in parts, according to UN-backed food experts.

The ceasefire is meant to be accompanied by a surge in humanitarian and medical aid into Gaza through all five crossings from Israel, though it is unclear how and when this will happen. Israeli army radio said Israel would allow 600 aid trucks into Gaza each day. Aid agencies say such quantities are grossly insufficient.

Leading international agencies, including the UN Palestinian refugee relief agency, Unwrap, said they had yet to receive details on what role they would be able to play during the ceasefire. Unwrap, which has been banned from running in Israel, urged Israeli authorities to allow it to take 6,000 trucks’ worth of aid into Gaza, including enough food to feed the population for three months, from Jordan and Egypt.

Care International said on Friday it still had not received clearance for its supplies to enter. “We still need clarity on how we’ll be able to get supplies into Gaza that have been stuck outside for months,” said Jolien Veldwijk, Care’s Palestine director.

Though there is much relief in Israel and in Gaza at the ceasefire, there is anxiety too. Trump’s ambitious 20-point proposal calls for the disarmament of Hamas, further Israeli withdrawals, the creation of an international stabilization force and a new technocratic Palestinian administration which would answer to Trump.

Little of this has been discussed in detail during the frantic negotiations in recent days, and securing agreement from all parties on the thornier issues will be extremely difficult.

Already disagreements have appeared over the makeup of the body that will take power from Hamas in Gaza. The US has said Trump and the former UK prime minister Tony Blair will lead the body, while Hamas has called for a Palestinian led entity to oversee administration of the strip. Naim rejected the involvement of Blair in particular.

Finally, the  U.S.-brokered ceasefire had raised hopes for ending the Israel-Hamas war. Questions stay over who will govern Gaza as Israeli troops gradually pull back and whether Hamas will disarm, as called for in Trump’s ceasefire plan. Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended a ceasefire in March, hinted that Israel might renew its offensive if Hamas does not give up its weapons.[10]

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have said they reject “any foreign guardianship” of the Gaza Strip. Gaza officials have called for an independent, international investigation into war crimes and genocide during Israel’s war on the enclave. [12]

UNRWA has called for all crossings into Gaza to be opened, saying that there are 6,000 aid trucks ready to reach Gaza in hours. [13]

On October 10, 2025, Netanyahu said in a televised statement that the next stages would see Hamas disarm and Gaza demilitarized. “If this is achieved the effortless way — so, be it. If not — it will be achieved the hard way,” Netanyahu said. The Israeli military has said it will continue to run defensively from the 50% of Gaza it still controls after pulling back to agreed-upon lines. [14]

Aid shipments began October 12, 2025. These are meant to address severe malnutrition and famine conditions triggered by Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian help. The aid will include 170,000 metric tons that have already been positioned in neighboring countries such as Jordan and Egypt as humanitarian officials awaited permission from Israeli forces to restart their work.

In the last several months, the U.N. and its partners have been able to deliver only 20% of the aid needed on the Gaza Strip, according to U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.

The war has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

The Trump plan calls for Israel to keep an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, formed of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would manage security inside Gaza. The U.S. would lead a massive internationally funded reconstruction effort.

The plan envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority — something Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform program that could take years. The Trump plan is even more vague about a future Palestinian state, which Netanyahu firmly rejects. [15]

The deployment of American troops to Israel marks the start of an extraordinarily complex effort to secure a fragile peace in Gaza and set up a framework to govern the enclave. 200 troops under Adm. Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command will check the cease-fire and organize the flow of humanitarian aid, coordination, and security aid to Gaza. [16]

Plans to demilitarize the Strip and build a new transitional government is under way. [17]

There has been fury in Israel that Hamas has not returned all of the bodies, in line with last week's ceasefire deal - though the US has downplayed the suggestion it amounts to a breach. Israel again stressed that Hamas must "uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages.” Hamas has said it remained committed to the ceasefire, including "keenness to hand over all remaining corpses".

The Palestinian group accused Netanyahu of impeding its ability to search for hostages' stays by not allowing heavy machinery and diggers into Gaza. It has blamed Israel for making the task of finding bodies difficult, because Israeli strikes have reduced so many buildings to rubble. [18]

Netanyahu said he was "determined" to secure the return of all the dead hostages, and that the country would continue to fight terrorism with "full force".

As part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

After Hamas said it was unable to retrieve all the bodies, two senior Trump advisers said preparations to move to the next phase of the ceasefire deal were continuing. [19]

Israel has returned to Gaza the bodies of 90 Palestinians for burial. Israel is expected to return more bodies, although officials have not said how many are in its custody or how many will be returned.

The dispute over hostage stays has cast a shadow over the ceasefire agreement – the first phase of US president Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war.

Earlier on October 17, 2025, Hamas called on mediators to push for the next steps under the ceasefire, including reopening the border, letting in aid, beginning reconstruction, setting up an administration, and completing Israel’s withdrawal.

Fighting has stopped in Gaza under Trump’s plan, endorsed by mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye. However, Gaza’s Civil Defence Service said on October 17, 2025, that 11 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle southeast of Gaza City, including seven children and three women.

The Israeli military did not comment on the incident, and Hamas again accused Israel of violating on the ceasefire.

The 20 living hostages who were taken by Hamas along with others during its assault on Israel in October 2023 were returned from Gaza earlier this week.

Israel said on October 16, 2025, it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to allow Palestinians to move in and out but gave no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the ceasefire. Other unresolved elements of the plan include the disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance. [20]

Aid stays critically scarce in Gaza one week into the ceasefire, humanitarian agencies have warned, as Israel delays the entry of food convoys into the territory. The Israeli government and Hamas continue to trade blame over violations of the truce.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) said on October 17 that it had brought about 560 tons of food a day on average into Gaza since the ceasefire began, but it was still below what was needed.

Aid trucks were lined up at the Kissufim crossing between Israel and Gaza since the early hours. It is one of the few entry points where semi-trucks load supplies on the Israeli side before heading back into Gaza. The Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, said on October 17 that the yellow line in Gaza will soon be physically marked. [21]

During the war, Israel shut down entry and exit routes, largely blocking off food and medicine, which in turn caused a famine in parts of Gaza.

The UN said it would take time to reverse the famine in Gaza and urged the opening of all crossing points. Emefa said the WFP had five distribution points up and running but wanted to get to 145 to “flood Gaza with food”.

The WFP said it had not begun distribution in Gaza City, pointing to the continued closure of two border crossings, Zikim and Erez, to the north of Gaza where the humanitarian crisis is most acute.

Though lesser amounts of nutritional products have reached the north, relief convoys were still unable to move significant quantities of food there, as well as other areas.

The ceasefire deal, earlier, between Israel and Hamas raised hopes of a surge of humanitarian aid finally reaching the territory after two years of war, but most restrictions have remained in place, throttling the supply of desperately needed assistance.

Tens of thousands of tons of supplies are positioned in neighboring countries such as Jordan and Egypt. Under the terms of the first phase of the deal, aid was meant to surge into the territory and humanitarian groups were preparing to bring large amounts of vital aid to starving people in Gaza this weekend.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that infectious diseases are “spiraling out of control,” with only 13 of the territory’s 36 hospitals even partially functioning.

In a separate update, the WHO office in the occupied Palestinian territory said on October 16 it had been scaling up deliveries of medical supplies to health facilities since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect.

But as Israel and Hamas continue to trade blame over breaches of the truce, there is a risk of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepening by the day.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement by not returning the remains of deceased hostages. Hamas has already returned the last 20 surviving hostages but has handed back only nine of 28 deceased captives, saying it would need specialist recovery equipment to retrieve the rest from the ruins of Gaza.

Türkiye has deployed dozens of disaster relief specialists to help search for bodies under the rubble.

Gaza’s civil defense agency estimates that the bodies of about 10,000 people are trapped under the debris and collapsed buildings. The task ahead of the rescuers is immense given that there is an estimated 60m tons of rubble across the territory. [22]

With no law, order or any alternative administration under the ceasefire, Hamas is using violence to deter rivals Throughout Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, aid officials working in the territory avoided naming Hamas in conversations they suspected might be intercepted, instead referring to the militant Islamist group as the “de facto authority”. This careful euphemism for Hamas, which violently seized power in 2007, captured an important truth. Though the group was a less obvious presence in the last months of the conflict, in the absence of any alternative, it stayed the closest the increasingly devastated territory had to a ruler. Its administrative officials continued to be key interlocutors for humanitarian organizations. Its armed police units hunted looters, armed gangs, clans who challenged its authority, the more outspoken critics among ordinary Palestinians and militia groups backed by Israel. This campaign now appears to have become a priority for Hamas – and it requires weapons, which Hamas is supposed to relinquish if the current ceasefire deal reached last week is to harden into anything resembling a durable peace. For Hamas, there are now new priorities, and they do not involve giving up guns. Senior officials have already made this clear, as have some involved in the tortuous negotiations under way on the second phase of Donald Trump’s 20-point “plan for peace”. Instead, the group has moved fast to assert its authority across the 47% of Gaza to which the population of 2.3 million hungry, weak and traumatized people are confined now that the Israeli military has withdrawn from its previous positions. In recent days, there have been skirmishes, shootings, and a public execution of seven unidentified “traitors and collaborators” in Zeitoun, a ruined neighborhood to the east of Gaza City. Though the group may not be able to deter enemies, rivals, and ordinary criminals through the certainty of punishment, it clearly believes it can do so through spectacular, terrifying armed violence. [23]

One reason for the anarchy is that Israel refused to outline any alternative government to Hamas throughout the conflict and has blocked any role there for the Palestinian Authority, which exercises partial authority over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Trump’s plan calls for the establishment of a transitional administration staffed by politically unaligned Palestinian technocrats under international oversight. It also specifies that Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza will be excluded from the future governance of Palestinian territories. There is no agreed timeline for any of this. In fact, there is no agreement at all. [24]

The scenario is that Hamas surrenders its minimal remaining stocks of heavier offensive weapons that could target Israel but refuses to handover the kind of lighter arms that will allow it to crush any opposition to its rule. This falls short of what Trump – and Israel – demand but may be sufficient. As for the exclusion from future governance, these recent days are likely to prove decisive. Hamas may well give up any formal role in Gaza but is highly likely to remain the “de facto authority” for the near future. [25]

Egypt and Qatar remain central to shaping Gaza's post-war future. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been outspoken in calling for the disarmament of Hamas as a prerequisite for their support. Egypt and Qatar, along with Turkey, are key regional supporters of the US-backed peace plan that the Gaza-based militant group Hamas and Israel agreed to on October 10. This week in Egypt, the leaders of the two Arab states and Türkiye, alongside US President Donald Trump, signed a declaration meant to cement the ceasefire in Gaza. So it could be that the future of the war-torn Gaza Strip and its around 2.1 million residents will depend on them. That is, if the peace deal between Israel and Hamas advances out of this first phase, which brought the war in Gaza to a halt after some two years. [26] Egypt's profile building “Egypt’s role as a key mediator in talks to secure a ceasefire and end Israel's genocide in Gaza has allowed Cairo to reassert its strategic value to its international partners," Timothy Kaldas, deputy director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, or TIMEP, a think tank, told DW. Diplomatic weight in the region," he predicts. This role has led to a boost of foreign assistance and financing, Kaldas noted. In February 2024, the United Arab Emirates signed onto a construction project at Ras al-Hikma, a Mediterranean peninsula near the city of Alexandria, worth $35 billion (€29 billion).In March 2024, the European Commission pledged a total of €7.4 billion ($8.7 billion) combining a loan and other financial assistance for Cairo. “For Cairo, it is also a diplomatic victory that earlier discussions of forcibly displacing the population from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan have been dropped in the plan put forward by US President Donald Trump," Kaldas told DW. Furthermore Cairo is going to want to play a significant role in reconstruction, he notes. “Egypt has a lot of construction capacity that they've built up with their mega projects and having somebody else pay for Egypt's construction companies to get to work in Gaza is definitely something the Egyptians would like to arrange," Kaldas says. Mediation stays indispensable," Kristian Alexander, senior fellow at the Abu Dhabi-based Rabdan Security and Defense Institute, told DW. Crucial role behind the scenes and the ceasefire represents an indirect diplomatic success," Sebastian Sons, a senior researcher at the German think tank, Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient, or CARPO, told Deriyah wants to see stabilization, not only in the Gaza Strip, but throughout the entire region as this is necessary for its economic diversification," Sons said. "However, Saudi Arabia does not want to be closely involved in Gaza in any way. “Sons believes Riyadh might be willing to train Palestinian soldiers in collaboration with Egypt and Jordan, instead of sending its own troops into the Gaza Strip. “Above all, Riyadh wants to ensure that Hamas no longer plays a major role," Sons said. But, he added, "it is no secret that Riyadh does not consider the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, to be particularly trustworthy partners either." It also remains to be seen whether Israel and Saudi Arabia return to US-endorsed talks about establishing diplomatic relations again. The earlier round of negotiations has been on hold since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war. Saudi Arabia has insisted a credible path towards a two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel must be part of any path towards normalization. Meanwhile, Trump is positive about such a deal. On Friday, he said in an interview with US broadcaster Fox that he hopes "to see Saudi Arabia go in, and I hope to see others go in."[27]

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on October 18, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations.

Netanyahu's statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave, would reopen on October 20 for entry into Gaza.

Netanyahu's government and Hamas have been trading blame over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire for days. [28]

The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with all inhabitants driven from their homes, a global hunger monitor confirming famine and health authorities overwhelmed.

The dispute over the return of bodies and shipments of life-saving humanitarian aid, underlines the fragility of the ceasefire and still has the potential to upset the deal, along with other major issues that are included in US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the war.

As part of the deal, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages it had been holding for two years, in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners jailed in Israel.

But Israel says that Hamas has been too slow to hand over the bodies of deceased hostages it still holds. The militant group says that finding some of the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza will take time.

The deal requires Israel to return 360 bodies of Palestinian militants for the deceased Israeli hostages and so far, it has handed over 15 bodies in return for each Israeli body it has received.

Rafah has been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid into the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people were decided in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor.

After cutting off all supplies for 11 weeks in March, Israel increased aid to Gaza in July, scaling it up further since the ceasefire.

Around 560 metric tons of food had entered Gaza per day on average since the US-brokered truce, but this was still well below the scale of need, according to the U.N. World Food Program.

Formidable obstacles to Trump's plan to end the war remain. Key questions of Hamas disarmament and how Gaza will be governed, the make-up of an international "stabilization force," and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved. [29]

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on October 18. He said the reopening depends on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages, as both sides continue to accuse each other of breaching the fragile US-mediated ceasefire. [30]

Rafah, Gaza’s main lifeline to the outside world, has still been closed since May 2024. The ongoing dispute over humanitarian aid and the exchange of bodies has further evaluated the durability of the ceasefire. Although Israel has increased aid deliveries since the truce, the United Nations reports that food supplies entering Gaza still fall far short of urgent needs. With key political and security issues unresolved — including Hamas’s disarmament, Gaza’s governance, and the proposed international stabilization force — formidable challenges continue to stand in the way of lasting peace. [31]

More than 66,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israel’s offensive in Gaza, much of the territory reduced to rubble, and most of the 2.3 million population displaced many times.

The Israeli military said it launched air strikes and artillery fire at targets in southern Gaza on October 19, dimming hopes that a U.S.-mediated ceasefire would lead to lasting peace as Israel traded blame with Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israel's attacks on October 19, 2025 were the most serious test of an already fragile ceasefire, which took effect on October 11. Israel's military said in a statement that the strikes targeted militants in the Rafah area who had opened fire on its soldiers. It said the attacks destroyed tunnels and military.

Hamas claimed that it stayed committed to the ceasefire agreement in all of Gaza, adding that it was unaware of clashes in Rafah and that it has not been in contact with groups there since March. [32]

Gaza's health ministry said on October 19, that Israeli attacks had killed at least eight people in the last 24 hours. The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice.

Rafah has been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people were decided in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor.

The crossing in earlier ceasefires functioned as a key conduit for humanitarian aid to flow into the enclave.

Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a dispute over the return of the bodies of deceased hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in turning over the remaining bodies of all 28 hostages.

Hamas has returned all 20 live hostages and 12 of the deceased and has said it has no interest in keeping the bodies of remaining hostages. The group said the process needs effort and special equipment to recover corpses buried under rubble.

Formidable obstacles to Trump's plan to end the war remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming, the future governance of Gaza, the make-up of an international "stabilization force", and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved. The U.S. State Department did not at once respond to a request for comment.

Renewed fighting in Gaza and concerns over the ceasefire pushed key Tel Aviv share indices down 2% on October 19. [33] The ceasefire in Gaza appears to have survived its first major test as Israel and Hamas affirmed their commitment to the deal after waves of Israeli airstrikes.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it would begin a “renewed enforcement” of the ceasefire at the direction of the political echelon.

Hamas said on October 19 that they stay committed to the ceasefire and rejected involvement in the attack on Israeli forces. [34]

On October 19, Israel conducted a series of strikes across Gaza after it accused Hamas of conducting an attack that killed two IDF soldiers marking the first time Israeli troops have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire.

The Israeli strikes killed at least 44 people in several parts of Gaza on October 19, according to data from Gaza’s hospitals.

Both Hamas and the IDF blamed the other for violating the ceasefire. [35]

Israel’s continuation of aid is a sign of the goal of keeping key components of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hamas. But the Rafah Crossing will remain closed, the official said, as Israel awaits the return of the remaining hostage bodies.

Earlier this year, a UN-backed initiative said parts of Gaza were facing famine and the truce raised hopes of a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory.

But Netanyahu faces pressure to respond to any violations from far-right parties supporting his coalition.

Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, described the resumption of aid as a “shameful backdown.”[36]

Hamas said its internal Rada’s security force was targeting a “hideout” of an Israel-backed militia. In June, Israel confirmed it was arming several such militias to counter Hamas. These militias now run from within Israeli-occupied areas in Gaza from which they “descend on the other half of Gaza, carry out attacks, then go run back to those protected areas.”

Hamas has conducted what it has called a “security campaign” aimed at “collaborators, mercenaries, thieves, bandits, and those cooperating with the Zionist enemy throughout the Gaza Strip.”

The internal clashes have created a volatile security situation in the battered enclave with violence erupting between Hamas and rival groups in several areas across Gaza, including an incident that culminated in an apparent public execution of eight people in a square in Gaza City while large crowds were watching.

October 19’s incident brought further strain to the ceasefire, with the next steps still unresolved. [37]

Israel has continued to restrict the amount of aid into the territory in violation of the ceasefire agreement. Aid agencies say that less than half of the amount needed has entered since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October.

Trump on October 19 insisted that the ceasefire would hold and contradicted Israel's claims that Hamas had violated the ceasefire. [38]On October 20, 2025, Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza reopened for aid y, a day after Israel closed it.

Following a decision at the political level, aid flowed through Kerem Shalom "in full compliance with the signed agreement", the official said, adding that Gaza's Rafah crossing to Egypt "will remain closed until further notice".

Hamas has denied breaching the truce agreement and in turn accused Israel of violating the deal. [39]

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser son-in-law Jared Kushner have returned to Israel. The pair is Washington's top negotiators overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan and are expected to meet members of Netanyahu's government. The US vice-president JD Vance said on October 19 that he may visit Israel in the coming days. “We’re trying to figure it out,” he told reporters, saying the administration wants to “go and check on how things are going.” About the ceasefire, he said that “there’s going to be fits and starts.” Vance will hold meetings with Netanyahu. [40]

Israel has killed 97 Palestinians and wounded 230 others since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10. Almost half of the deaths came on October 19 when Israel bombarded the territory in response to what it claimed was a Hamas attack on its troops in southern Gaza.

Israeli forces have regularly fired on civilians who they said crossed the so-called 'yellow line' demarcating Israel-occupied Gaza. The UN last week said these actions amount to war crimes committed by the Israeli military. [41]

What Happens Next?

The next stage of the U.S.-brokered deal stays unclear. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 68,159 people and wounded 170,203 since October 2023. A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and about 200 were taken captive. Of the remaining 48 captives kept in Gaza, 20 were still alive. All living has been returned to Israel. [42]

Hamas has returned 12 of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages in line with the ceasefire agreement with Israel. All 12 have now been formally found.

Ceasefire’s second phase begins in Cairo as a Hamas delegation arrived to follow up the implementation of the ceasefire deal with mediators and other Palestinian groups.

The next stages are expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from added areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory. The U.S. plan proposes the establishment of an internationally backed authority.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem said October 18 that the group has begun discussions to “solidify its positions.” He reiterated that Hamas will not be part of the ruling authority in a postwar Gaza and called for the prompt establishment of a body of Palestinian technocrats to run day-to-day affairs.

For now, “government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the (power) vacuum is very dangerous,” he said. [43]

But formidable obstacles stay in the way of a durable peace in Gaza, where a ceasefire collapsed in March after two months of relative calm when Israel unleashed a barrage of airstrikes.

Key questions of Hamas disarmament, future governance of Gaza, the make-up of an international "stabilization force", and moves towards creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved. [44]

Bringing the war in Gaza to a close would mark the biggest foreign policy achievement so far for Trump, who took office in January promising to quickly end the conflict there and in Ukraine, only to be confronted with obstacles and complexities he had apparently not foreseen.

It is hoped that the next phase of the Trump plan would set up an international stability force composed of Arab and Muslim countries like Qatar, Egypt, Türkiye, Indonesia, and Pakistan. Only a full-fledges international security force can replace Hamas as the governing authority in Gaza. Without such a stabilization international peace-keeping force Gaza will not be secure enough to let the Israeli military completely with draw from Gaza. It is hoped that such an international body will be forthcoming soon enough to have an influence in the lives of the hapless Gazans who have faced genocide on the hands of Israeli military aggression.

The war has evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, and reshaping the Middle East. There cannot be peace in the region without the implementation of the universally agreed two-state solution which calls for the creation of an independent sovereign Palestine state living in peace with its neighbors. Nothing else will do. However, the Trump plan has avoided the issue on purpose. It remains to be seen what will happen next. The only positive aspect on a dark horizon is the change of tone in the American foreign policy establishment which was stubbornly pro-Israel till very recently. Now the Trump administration is listening to its Arab and Muslim allies for the first time ever. The shifting global opinion, including American, in favor of Palestinian independence has made the difference, indeed.

There cannot be regional peace without accountability of Israelis leadership for its crimes of genocide committed in Gaza. The International Criminal Court is seeking the arrest of Netanyahu and his former defense minister for allegedly using starvation as a method of war. Israeli officials must be held accountable for the crimes committed against humanity. There cannot be peace without justice. However, the chances of that happening are very slim. Given American support, Israeli leadership will go scoot free on this one.

The single biggest development in the last two years is the massive support received for the Palestinian cause throughout the world. Israel is now a pariah state isolated on the world stage, as never before. It is hoped that enough world pressure can indeed be generated to fore Israel to the universally agree two-state solution which is still the only hope for regional peace. The Trump administration does not want an independent and sovereign Palestine, in full agreement with Israel, and will manipulate politics towards to achieve that end. However, the Trump administration is also sensitive to changing public opinion across the Western capitals and domestic US itself. It just may tilt towards Palestine independence only, when, the domestic American public opinion shifts decisively towards Palestine and away from Israel. There is hope yet that it may happen. For their part, Muslim and Arab leadership must seize the moment to make it happen. Alas, the entire Muslim and Arab leadership face a leadership crisis of a complex nature and that is hoping for too much. Nevertheless, the wave of public support for Palestinian independence can yet have an influence. Let us hope so.

Dr. Sohail Mahmood is a political analyst in Chapel Hill, NC.

[1]  Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland, “Trump to push proposal for elusive Gaza peace in Netanyahu talks”, Reuters, September 29, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-push-proposal-elusive-gaza-peace-netanyahu-talks-2025-09-29/

[2] Ibid

[3] Jason Burke , "Hamas to demand key revisions to Trump Gaza plan before accepting, sources say", The Guardian, October 2, 2025 18.05 BST, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/02/hamas-likely-to-accept-trump-peace-plan-with-key-revisions-experts-say

[4] Ibid

[5] Global outcry as Israel stops Gaza-bound flotilla, Reuters, October 03, 2025, Israeli navy escorts vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Ashdod Port, in southern Israel.

[6] Global outcry as Israel stops Gaza-bound flotilla, Reuters, October 03, 2025, Israeli navy escorts vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Ashdod Port, in southern Israel.

[7] Lorenzo Tondo  and Sam Jones ,"Israel stops 41 boats in aid flotilla with one ‘still sailing strong’", The Guardian, October 2, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/02/israel-intercepts-aid-flotilla-but-one-ship-reported-to-have-got-through-blockade

[8] Ibid

[9]Gaza ceasefires deal officially agreed, BBC News, October 9, 2025, Israel approves Gaza ceasefire deal - BBC News round

[10] Abdul Kareem Hana, Wafa Shurafa, and Melanie Lidman, “Thousands of Palestinians return to what ‘is left of their homes as Gaza ceasefire takes affect”, Associated Press, October 11, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/gaza-shelling-ceasefire-israel-c832ff32cf332805ffb50bffa35e8220

[12] Lyndal Rowlands, Alastair McCready, Urooba Jamal and Umut Uras. “LIVE: Palestinians return to northern Gaza”, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/11/live-trump-says-captive-swap-due-monday-as-israel-gaza-ceasefire-unfolds; William Christou, Jason Burke, and Seham Tantesh , "Palestinians displaced to southern Gaza begin journey home as ceasefire comes into effect", The Guardian October 19, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/10/palestinians-displaced-gaza-home-ceasefire-israel-hamas; Israel ceases fire, begins troop pullback, AFP, October 11, 2025, Israel ceases fire, begins troop pullback

[13] Lyndal Rowlands, Alastair McCready, Urooba Jamal and Umut Uras. “LIVE: Palestinians return to northern Gaza,” Aljazeera, October 11, 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/11/live-trump-says-captive-swap-due-monday-as-israel-gaza-ceasefire-unfolds

 Abdul Kareem Hana, Wafa Shurafa, and Melanie Lidman, “Thousands of Palestinians return to what’s left of their homes as Gaza ceasefire takes affect”, Associated Press, October 11, 2025,https://apnews.com/article/gaza-shelling-ceasefire-israel-c832ff32cf332805ffb50bffa35e8220; William Christou, Jason Burke, and Seham Tantesh, “Palestinians displaced to southern Gaza begin journey home as ceasefire comes into effect”, The Guardian, October 10, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/10/palestinians-displaced-gaza-home-ceasefire-israel-hamas Israel ceases fire, begins troop pullback, AFP, October 11, 2025, Israel ceases fire, begins troop pullback.

[14] Lyndal Rowlands, Alastair McCready, Urooba Jamal and Umut Uras. “LIVE: Palestinians return to northern Gaza,” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/11/live-trump-says-captive-swap-due-monday-as-israel-gaza-ceasefire-unfolds

Abdul Kareem Hana, Wafa Shurafa, and Melanie Lidman, “Thousands of Palestinians return to what’s left of their homes as Gaza ceasefire takes affect”, Associated Press, October 11, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/gaza-shelling-ceasefire-israel-c832ff32cf332805ffb50bffa35e8220;William Christou , Jason Burke, and Seham Tantesh , " Palestinians displaced to southern Gaza begin journey home as ceasefire comes into effect", The Guardian, October 10, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/10/palestinians-displaced-gaza-home-ceasefire-israel-hamas Israel ceases fire, begins troop pullback, AFP, October 11, 20254 min read

Israel ceases fire, begins troop pullback

[15] Ibid

[16] Michael R. Gordon and Summer Said, “The American Troops Tasked with Helping Secure Gaza’s Future”, Wall Street Journal, October  10, 2025, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/gaza-rebuilding-government-next-e271530b?mod=hp_lead_pos8

[17] Yolande Knell and Bernd Debusmann, “US plays down claims Hamas is violating ceasefire deal over hostage remains”, BBC News, October 16, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w9py9940go

[18] BBC, October 18, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yp3eq9knvo

[19] BBC, October 18, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yp3eq9knvo

[20] Israel finds body of 10th hostage recovered from Gaza.

Remains of Eliyahu ‘Churchill’ Margalit,” The Guardian, October 18, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/18/israel-hostage-body-gaza-red-cross-handover

[21] Lorenzo Tondo, William Christouin Jerusalem and Seham Tantesh, “Gaza aid still critically scarce, say agencies, as Israel delays convoys”, The Guardian October 17, 2025,

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/17/gaza-aid-still-critically-scarce-say-agencies-as-israel-delays-convoys

[22] Ibid

[23] Jason BurkeI, “Hamas’s aim to retain authority in Gaza involves keeping the guns”, The Guardian, October 17, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/17/hamass-aim-to-retain-authority-in-gaza-involves-keeping-the-guns

[24] Ibid

[25] Ibid

[26] Jennifer Holleis, “What role for Arab powers in shaping post-war Gaza?”, DW, October 18, 2025, What role for Arab powers in shaping post-war Gaza?

[27] Ibid

[28] Israel keeps Rafah crossing shut, ties reopening to hostages’ bodies, Reuters, October 19, 20253, https://tribune.com.pk/story/2573128/israel-keeps-rafah-crossing-shut-ties-reopening-to-hostages-bodies

[29] Ibid

[30] Israel keeps Rafah crossing shut amid ceasefire dispute, DT, October 19, 2025, https://dailytimes.com.pk/1386374/israel-keeps-rafah-crossing-shut-amid-ceasefire-dispute/

[31] Ibid

[32] Israeli military launches attacks on Gaza, ceasefire under strain”, Reuters, October 19, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-media-reports-military-attack-gaza-2025-10-19/; Usaid Siddiqui and Faisal Ali, “Live: Israeli air strikes hit Rafah amid calls for return to fighting”, Aljazeera, October 19, 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/19/live-israel-continues-deadly-attacks-on-gaza-closes-rafah-crossing, and Frank Gardner and Paulin Kola, “Israel launches air strikes in Gaza, accusing Hamas of 'blatant violation of ceasefire'”, BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2elr16jjqo

[33] Ibid

[34] US-brokered ceasefire survives first major test as Israel and Hamas affirm commitment to deal, CNN, October 20, 2025, https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/19/world/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-test-intl

[35] Dov Lieber, and Anat Peled, "Israel Hits Dozens of Targets in Gaza After Saying Hamas Killed Troops in Attack", Wall Street Journal, October  19, 2025, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hamas-attacks-israeli-troops-in-gaza-threatening-fragile-cease-fire-2cc1245a?mod=hp_lead_pos3 and US-brokered ceasefire appears to survive first major test as Israel and Hamas affirm commitment to deal, CNN, October 20, 2025, https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/19/world/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-test-intl

[36]  US-brokered ceasefire survives first major test as Israel and Hamas affirm commitment to deal, CNN, October 20, 2025, https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/19/world/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-test-intl

[37] Ibid

[38] Fragile truce in Gaza after day of deadly Israeli strikes, The New Arab, October 20, 2025, https://www.newarab.com/news/fragile-truce-gaza-after-day-deadly-israeli-strikes

[39] Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing to Gaza reopens to aid, The New Arab,

[40] Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Israel - US embassy spokesperson, The Guardian, October 20, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/oct/20/gaza-ceasefire-israel-hamas-palestine-hostages-middle-east-crisis-live-news-updates, and “US envoys Witkoff and Kushner in Israel”, The New Arab, October 20, 2025, https://www.newarab.com/news/fragile-truce-gaza-after-day-deadly-israeli-strikes

[41] Israel kills 97 Palestinians during ceasefire, The New Arab,

October 20, 2025, https://www.newarab.com/news/fragile-truce-gaza-after-day-deadly-israeli-strikes

[42] Usaid Siddiqui and Faisal Ali, “Live: Israeli air strikes hit Rafah amid calls for return to fighting”, Aljazeera, October 19, 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/19/live-israel-continues-deadly-attacks-on-gaza-closes-rafah-crossing ;

Jason Burke, “Turkey and Qatar putting pressure on group to make concessions – but condition it disarm is a sticking point”, The Guardian, October 2, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/02/hamas-likely-to-accept-trump-peace-plan-with-key-revisions-experts-say; Lyndal Rowlands, Alastair McCready, Urooba Jamal and Umut Uras. “LIVE: Palestinians return to northern Gaza”, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/11/live-trump-says-captive-swap-due-monday-as-israel-gaza-ceasefire-unfolds; William Christou, Jason Burke, and Seham Tantesh, “Palestinians displaced to southern Gaza begin journey home as ceasefire comes into effect”, The guardian, October 10, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/10/palestinians-displaced-gaza-home-ceasefire-israel-hamas, Israel ceases fire, begins troop pullback, AFP, October 11, 20254 min read

Israel ceases fire, begins troop pullback.

 Robert Birsel, “Israeli Military Says Gaza Ceasefire is Back On”, Newsweek, October 20, 2025, https://www.newsweek.com/israeli-military-says-gaza-ceasefire-back-on-10903919.

[43] Magdy reported from Cairo. Chris Megerian contributed reporting from Air Force One. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-10-19-2025-f3d95cf76018541ff824853d1bcd3356

[44] Israel says ceasefire, aid to resume after airstrikes kill 26 in Gaza, Reuters, October 20, 2025, https://tribune.com.pk/story/2573235/israel-says-ceasefire-aid-to-resume-after-airstrikes-kill-26-in-gaza