Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Breakthrough: A Glimmer of Hope
There’s finely a glimmer of hope in Gaza. After three days of talks, Israel and Hamas have made a breakthrough. They have agreed on the first stage of a ceasefire. What’s more, we saw it play out live. Donald Trump was in the middle of a meeting when the news came in. He got a note from his top diplomat, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Afterward, the president said that a breakthrough was close.
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio “Well, they’re smart, but they’re not smart enough. They have been covered by these liberal cities for so many years, and that’s why we’re all working with Treasury, with all these different departments to find the criminal conspiracy,
Trump on Peace Talk “I’m just giving , I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East and they’ll get a need me pretty quickly so.I will take a couple of more questions.
What Stage 1 of the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Includes
Within minutes, Trump posted on social media. He announced that Hamas and Israel had reached an agreement. Both sides signed off on stage one of the plan. And what is Stage 1 now? According to Trump, Hamas will release all hostages in their custody. After that, Israel will withdraw from deep inside Gaza.
Now let me pull up the map for you. The blue line marks Israel’s current occupation in stage 1. They will pull back to the yellow line. Still, the idea will retain around 55% of Gaza’s land now. Hamas says that the first stage will also include the entry of aid into the Strip, plus the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Emotional Reactions from Hostage Families
As the news came in, celebrations broke out. Families of hostages had been protesting on the streets of Israel. They broke out into cries of joy. Israelis Celebrate Hostage Deal “Truly, the joy is deep, but we have to be realistic. We have to be realistic until they get into the Red Cross vehicle and truly meet the IDF soldiers. Until that moment, we must pray, cry out to the gates of heaven.”
“Thank President Trump for bringing this amazing victory. That’s the name for it. That’s a victory. He deserves a Nobel Prize for this, a Nobel Peace Prize for bringing this amazing Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.”
A nightmare that could end soon. Reports say the hostages could be released as soon as Saturday. As you heard, the families are thanking Donald Trump. His commerce secretary was with some of those families last night, and the president phoned in to speak to them.
Family of Hostage “We know you’ve done so much for us over the past, since you became a president and even before that. And we trust you. Fulfil the mission until every hostage, every 48 of the hostages are home. Thank you so much, God. Blessed be the peacemakers. God bless you, Mr. President. God Bless America, Thank you very much. You just take care of yourselves.”
Trump “The hostages will come back. They’re coming all coming back on Monday — the first major step in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.”
This Israel-Hamas ceasefire brings hope after two years of war, but families remain cautious until their loved ones are truly home.
Cautious Joy in Gaza
And what’s the same to me? In Gaza, celebrations broke out in towns like Khan Unis. At the same time, people are wary. After two years of relentless bombing, they are tired and scared. Celebration in Gaza “Thank God, after this agreement today we asked from God for it to be completed in goodness, hopefully, and this nightmare comes to an end so we can announce that Gaza is staying and Gaza won’t die.”
“ I am happy and unhappy. We have lost a lot of people and lost loved ones, friends and family. We lost our homes.”
Global Leaders Welcome the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire
Now the global reactions are also positive. Almost every country has welcomed the breakthrough. France, Italy, Britain, the entire Arab world through Kia, Indonesia, India, all of these countries have welcomed the deal.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a message on social media and let me quote what he said. We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring respite to them and pave the way for lasting peace. UN quote. Now, other world leaders were also full of praise.
President Turkey “ We are very pleased with the agreement to which we have actively contributed from the outset, from now on, the urgent delivery of comprehensive humanitarian aid to Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners. The immediate cessation of Israel’s attacks and ensuring the withdrawal to designated lines are of paramount importance. “
Prime Minister UK “This is a moment of profound relief. That we felt around the world, but particularly. For the hostages, their families and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all injured unimaginable suffering over the last two years”.
Chancellor Germany “Developments in Israel, give us cause for optimism. There is clearly a great opportunity to reach an agreement with Hamas in the coming hours already.
China’s Foreign Minister “China hopes that a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire can be achieved in the Gaza Strip at an early date to effectively ease. Ease the humanitarian crisis and tensions in the region.
How the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Was Achieved
So how was this breakthrough achieved? In one word, it was thanks to pressure. Under Joe Biden’s presidency, Israel had very few red lines. The operations kept expanding every month. At last count, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians. Plus aid was cut off. In early 2025, Israel imposed virtual blockade on the Strip bass, cutting off Gazans from food and medicines.
For most of this year, Trump continued to back Israel. He even encouraged Netanyahu to leave the January ceasefire. Then what changed? It was mainly 2 things. One, Trump’s MAGA base began to sour on Israel. Mainly leading ideologues had criticized the large scale destruction. Secondly, Israel launched a daring attack on Qatar. Now Qatar is a key ally of the US it is home to. The biggest U.S. military base in the region. Plus the attack galvanized the Arab world. They feared that Israel was going out of control, and Trump seized on that.
He hosted Netanyahu at the White House last week. While there, he forced the Israeli Prime Minister to apologize to Qatar. What’s more, he got Netanyahu to agree to his deal. His 20 point proposal for peace. Towards both. At that point, maybe Netanyahu was hoping Hamas would reject it. After all, the deal would leave the them defend with no weapons, no hostages and no future role in governance.
And that’s where pressure came from the other side. Hamas allies in Turkey and Qatar urged them to take the deal. Even Iran said it supported the peace process. So the writing was on the wall. If Hamas said no, all the blame would fall on them. Which is probably why they have agreed to this deal.
The question is: will it stick? And if it does, what will be the next steps?
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