A year after Gaza ceasefire, Trump plan stalled: Hamas armed, Israel holds two-thirds

Right · 2One year after the Gaza ceasefire began, US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war has stalled, with Hamas still armed, Israeli forces controlling about two-thirds of the strip and reconstruction barely underway. 1 2 Right · 2The first phase produced a ceasefire on 10 October 2025 and the release of the last hostages seized in Hamas's 2023 attack, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel. 2 1 Right · 1Later phases of the 20-point plan called for Hamas to disarm and for a Palestinian body, overseen by the Trump-led Board of Peace, to take over governance, with Israel gradually withdrawing and handing territory to a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF). 2

Right · 2There has been no return to full-scale military operations, but Israeli strikes have continued; Gaza's health ministry says at least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, though it does not disclose militant casualties. 2 1 Right · 2Israel says its strikes target Hamas, which it accuses of trying to carry out attacks and rearm; Arab News's copy adds that Hamas denies this. The Israeli military says five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire. 2 1 Right · 2The initial phase's "yellow line" left Israeli troops controlling 53% of Gaza; the military has since expanded its effective control to around two-thirds. Arab News's copy says this has squeezed the population of 2 million into a shrinking coastal strip, and both versions say Israel-backed Palestinian militias opposed to Hamas use the Israeli-held zone to attack Hamas-controlled areas. 1 2

Right · 2The IPC hunger monitor says more than 1.2 million people still face acute hunger despite a scale-up of aid. It cited an average of 227 trucks a day from the ceasefire to the end of May, under half the 600 the plan stipulated. Israel says about 600 trucks enter daily, that Gaza is getting enough goods, and that it is meeting its obligations. COGAT did not immediately respond on the IPC figure. Aid agencies say Israel blocks items such as metal tent poles, engine oil and spare parts on the grounds that Hamas could use them for military purposes. 2 1 Right · 2Disarmament is the key obstacle. Trump said Hamas and other militants accepted a 15-point Board of Peace roadmap to give up arms, with Israeli forces withdrawing as Hamas disarmed. Hamas said it would hand over weapons to be stored under the US-backed Palestinian technocratic government, while rejecting the word 'disarmament'. Israel called the plan unacceptable and said it would not withdraw until Hamas is fully disarmed. 1 2 Right · 1The Arab News copy adds that a plan unveiled in July to achieve disarmament has also stalled. 2

Right · 2The ISF has a commander, US Major General Jasper Jeffers, and personnel pledged by Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Albania, Kosovo and Uganda, but is not yet assembled; Jeffers says the long-term plan is 20,000 troops and training 12,000 Palestinian police. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, led by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority deputy minister, was appointed in January and has yet to enter Gaza. 1 2 Right · 2The Board of Peace unveiled a $2.45 billion rebuilding plan in September, a fraction of the $71.4 billion over ten years that an April EU and UN assessment put as the need. 2 1 Right · 2Israeli right-wing politicians have stepped up calls for mass "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians. Defense Minister Israel Katz said last month there was "no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration". Trump backed away from earlier displacement comments, and Israeli officials say there are no plans to move people out by force. 2 1

Right · 1Israel holds a general election on 27 October, its first since the 7 October 2023 attack; some leading opposition figures have backed Trump's plan, and Arab News's copy says polls show pro- and anti-Netanyahu parties in a tight race. 2