As Israeli and Hamas officials began indirect talks in Cairo on Monday aimed at ironing out details of a plan proposed by Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, to stop the war in Gaza, hopes of an end to the daily massacres in the Palestinian territory are growing. Hamas and its allied Palestinian factions have agreed to release Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, including the bodies of those who have died. Hamas has also agreed to give up any role in the future administration of Gaza, as demanded by Mr Trump’s 20-point plan. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has said that the release of hostages could be announced this week. Meanwhile, most of the world has welcomed Mr Trump’s push to secure an end to the war. On Sunday, he had asked Israeli and Hamas negotiators to move fast in their talks, aware of how easy it would be to squander the momentum towards peace that has been built in recent days.
But the past two years of the war have also been a timeline of missed opportunities for peace, and there remain significant differences among what Mr Trump’s plan outlines, what Israel has accepted, and what Hamas has so far agreed to. For instance, Hamas has not yet agreed to disarm, and Israel has not agreed to let the Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank, administer Gaza in the long-term, as advocated by Mr Trump’s plan. Key questions also remain about the extent to which Israeli forces will maintain their security presence in and around Gaza. The contours of a future Palestinian State also look unclear with Israel appearing ready to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank and potentially drawing up plans to annex the region entirely. There are doubts, too, about the depth of the support for Mr Trump’s plan from Arab and Muslim nations that have publicly endorsed it. Pakistan has already distanced itself from the text, with its deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar, stating that the plan that was made public by Mr Trump was different from the one Pakistan and other countries had been shown by the White House. Whether that’s true, or whether some governments are merely back-pedalling in the face of public outrage over a peace deal that could see a Mr Trump-led body essentially rule Gaza, the US president is right on the need for urgency in the latest talks. The war must stop now.