This week ended with a shocking terrorist attack targeting Sydney’s Jewish community, as two gunmen fatally shot fifteen people and wounded dozens of others celebrating the first day of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach. Israeli and Australian authorities are currently investigating potential Iranian involvement in the attack. In Gaza, Israel killed a top Hamas commander, posing another test to the Trump-mediated ceasefire, one that has endured ongoing Israeli strikes since it was agreed to by Israel and Hamas in October. Meanwhile, the Israeli government announced a large expansion of settlements in the West Bank. On Sunday morning, two gunmen — a father and son — killed fifteen people and hospitalized forty others as hundreds gathered on Bondi Beach to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. Australian and Israeli authorities are investigating if Iran was involved in the attack. A month ago, the Mossad reportedly notified Australian intelligence of Iranian-backed “terror infrastructure” in the country coordinating attacks on Jewish Australians. In August, Australia accused Iran of backing two 2024 arson attacks against a synagogue and a kosher restaurant. Iranian involvement in the most recent attack on Bondi Beach has not been confirmed, however. Meanwhile, Israel continues to launch strikes on various targets in Gaza, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian deaths since the ceasefire officially began in October. Since then, the ceasefire has been defined by a state of fragility. On Saturday, Israel said that it killed Raed Saed, a top Hamas commander in Gaza . Israel said in a statement that the strike was in response to “the activation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces,” referring to the detonation of a device that injured two IDF soldiers operating in southern Gaza. According to Israel, Saed was one of the architects of the Hamas-led terrorist attack in October 2023. Hamas has described Saed as the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing. The attack is one of many tests endured by the ceasefire in recent weeks. In other news, on Thursday, the Israeli government approved the legalization and establishment of 19 settler outposts in the West Bank in a major expansion of settlements. Outposts are illegal under both Israeli law and international law. International law considers all settlements in the West Bank illegal, as they constitute an obstruction of the contiguity of a future Palestinian state. Settler violence has engulfed the West Bank in recent months, as Palestinians and their property have come under an increasing number of attacks by settlers. Overall, except for a shocking terror attack in Sydney, this week was a continuation of the violence occurring in Gaza and settler expansion in the West Bank. However, the ceasefire in Gaza still holds.

This week, Israeli strikes in Gaza continued to test the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, negotiated by Trump in October of this year — a deal that the US is now looking to extend into phase two. Also in Gaza, the head of the Popular Forces — a prominent Gazan militia vehemently opposed to Hamas — was killed, dealing a major blow to Israel’s efforts to promote anti-Hamas groups in the enclave. On Wednesday, an Israeli aircraft struck tents for displaced Gazans west of Khan Younis , in the Strip’s coastal al-Mawasi area. The attack killed five Palestinians, including two boys aged eight and ten, and left 32 others injured. Israel said that it had “struck a Hamas terrorist” in response to an attack wounding five IDF soldiers in Rafah, which Israel accused Hamas of perpetuating. While the ceasefire still technically holds between Israel and Hamas, Gazans are accustomed to the presence of ongoing Israeli strikes. Israeli strikes are not the only source of violence in Gaza. On Thursday, Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of an anti-Hamas Gazan armed group, the Popular Forces, was killed in Rafah. According to the Popular Forces, Shabab was killed amid a violent clash between influential and armed local families, not by Hamas. The Popular Forces is the most prominent of multiple anti-Hamas militias that have emerged during the war. Israel has militarily supported these groups in an effort to weaken Hamas’ grip on the Strip. Hamas had previously labeled Abu Shabab as a “collaborator” and sought to capture and assassinate him. The Popular Forces have denied receiving Israeli assistance. Abu Shabab’s killing will likely demoralize smaller anti-Hamas groups in Gaza and hinder Israel’s attempts to effectively prop up alternatives to Hamas that it considers acceptable, which does not include the Palestinian Authority. Despite the ongoing violence, the Trump administration has become increasingly focused on moving the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas into its second phase. A US official says that the administration is aiming to announce the initiation of the second phase in approximately two weeks . Trump is expected to name members of the entities to oversee postwar Gaza, as well as the countries that will staff the security force. Phase two of the deal concerns the establishment of governance and security frameworks for a postwar Gaza in which Hamas has no political power. According to the official, the administration is still engaging in final conversations with potential participants. The transition to phase two may not be announced by the end of the year as Trump wants it to, as the announcement relies on Hamas agreeing to disarm, one of the agreement’s most difficult issues While Hamas’ recent rhetoric and actions suggest that it is unwilling to disarm, on Sunday, a senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, indicated that the organization is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its weapons . While maintaining Hamas’ “right to resist” and omitting specific details, Naim said that Hamas would accept disarmament as part of a larger process directed towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. “We are open to have a comprehensive approach in order to avoid further escalations or in order to avoid any further clashes or explosions,” Naim said. While efforts to advance the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas are increasing, a lot remains unclear around Hamas’ disarmament. Meanwhile, on-the-ground violence in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon continues to weaken the already fragile state of the situation. Much will be seen in the coming weeks as negotiations between major parties continue.

This week, the death toll in Gaza surpassed 70,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, as Israel continued its military activity in the enclave. In the West Bank, a video showed IDF soldiers executing two unarmed Palestinian militants, raising scrutiny. Israel also attacked southern Syria this week in an altercation with a militant group, resulting in more than a dozen casualties that included women and children. Since the US-negotiated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect in October, Israel has continued striking Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the agreement. On multiple occasions, Israel has blamed Hamas for firing on IDF soldiers operating inside the area demarcated by the “yellow line” established by the deal. Many of the Israeli strikes have targeted areas inside the line. However, in other instances, Israel has justified its military action by claiming self-defense against Palestinians who cross the line, sometimes unknowingly. At other times, Israel’s attacks have occurred outside the line. On Saturday, an Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinian children , Fadi and Juma Abu Assi, aged 8 and 11 respectively. The IDF said it had identified two “suspects” crossing the yellow line and carrying out “suspicious activity on the ground,” acting to “to remove the threat.” Their family said that the young brothers had been searching for firewood east of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, when they were killed. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, an incriminating video emerged on Thursday showing IDF soldiers fatally shooting two unarmed Palestinian militants. The video portrayed two men, fighters in the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, crawling on the ground, appearing to have surrendered before being killed by the soldiers. The killings took place amid an Israeli military operation in Jenin. The IDF issued a statement saying that “the incident is under review.” Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, expressed support for the soldiers, commenting, “The fighters acted exactly as expected of them — terrorists must die.” It is widely agreed upon that the execution of unarmed prisoners is a war crime. On Friday, Israel launched an attack on Beit Jinn , a town in southern Syria. 13 people were killed and 24 injured as an Israeli operation in the village escalated into “face-to-face” combat, according to the IDF. Israel says that it infiltrated Beit Jinn to capture members of Jama’a Islamiya, a Lebanese Islamist militant group, who were planning future attacks on Israel. Two Syrian girls, ages 4 and 17, and a 10-year-old boy were among those killed . Three IDF soldiers were also seriously injured. Since Syrian rebels led by Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted Bashar al-Assad last year, Israel has maintained a military presence in southern Syria. Tensions between Israel and al-Sharaa rose in July when Israel intervened militarily in Syria on behalf of its Druze minority. Yet Israel and Syria have engaged in direct talks on multiple occasions this year, and al-Sharaa recently visited the White House. Events this week largely continued the trend of ongoing violence in both Gaza and the West Bank, as well as Israeli military activity against surrounding militant groups.

This week, violence escalated in Gaza as Israel ramped up strikes on the territory in response to what it claimed were Hamas violations of the ceasefire deal. Ever since Israel and Hamas agreed to the deal negotiated by Donald Trump in October, tensions have simmered between the two parties. Israel has continuously launched strikes into Gaza, targeting areas both within the Yellow Line (the boundary that demarcates Israeli-controlled areas) and outside it, resulting in the killing of more than 300 Gazans, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel has on multiple occasions accused Hamas of firing on IDF soldiers and of delaying the return of deceased Israeli hostages. On Wednesday , Israeli troops came under fire in Khan Younis. Israel blamed the shooting on Hamas, which denied the allegations. Soon after, Israel launched a series of strikes into Gaza, killing 33 Palestinians across Khan Younis and Gaza City. Four of the airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced Gazans, for whom it feels like the war never ended. A similar scenario played out on Saturday , when Israeli strikes killed another 22 Palestinians in areas across northern and central Gaza. Israel claimed that five senior Hamas members were among the dead, and justified the strikes as a response to an “armed terrorist” who crossed the Yellow Line and fired at IDF soldiers, which Hamas again denied. Despite the ongoing escalations, the Trump administration is pushing forward with the ceasefire plan. At the beginning of the week, on Monday , the UN Security Council passed a US-drafted resolution regarding the next stages of the ceasefire. The resolution was adopted b a vote of 13–0, with two abstentions by Russia and China. It established the “Board of Peace” as a multinational entity to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, as well as the creation of a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza. It is reported that UN backing will allow countries to join the force. However, the logistics of the draft’s implementation are quite vague. The draft references the disarmament of Hamas, yet it is unclear how Hamas will be made to hand over its weapons. Likewise, timelines are not provided for when the Palestinian Authority will assume the role of the international force and for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Gaza is not the only territory whose future is uncertain. Israeli strikes on Lebanon have also continued into this week. Israel and Hezbollah are officially operating under a ceasefire negotiated by the US last year. However, tensions between the two parties have risen recently. Today , Israel struck Beirut for the first time in months, killing five people, including a Hezbollah member, and injuring 28 others. Israel has been accusing Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild its military capabilities, using this claim as the justification for its military action. The Lebanese government has vowed to disarm Hezbollah, which has conditioned discussions about its weapons on Israel stopping its attacks, withdrawing from Lebanon, and releasing Lebanese prisoners. Despite ongoing talk of peace among the international community, spearheaded by the Trump administration, the reality in both Gaza and Lebanon appears increasingly unstable. Nonetheless, civilians on the ground have no choice but to continue hoping for an end to the violence.

This week was marked by continued Israeli military activity in Gaza amid the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a looming humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and a spike in violence in the occupied West Bank as settlers torched a mosque in Salfit. Despite the ceasefire deal, conditions in Gaza have been extremely difficult for Palestinians trying to live their lives after nearly two years of displacement, destruction, and hunger. Humanitarian aid remains a major challenge. Despite significant progress since the ceasefire with aid and clothing distribution, hospital recovery and immunization, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations’ under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said on Monday that “many obstacles remain” that hinder the flow of aid into the Strip. Fletcher cited constraints such as “red tape” and some restrictions still in place on entering Gaza. On Friday , displaced Palestinians in Gaza woke up to find their tents flooded with water after a night of heavy rain. According to Gazan Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal, “Entire shelter centers have seen water levels rise to more than 10 centimeters.” The water completely soaked the belongings and mattresses of the Palestinians sheltering in these tents. Gaza lacks the infrastructure to properly prevent flood damage, and currently, over 1.4 million Gazans are in need of emergency shelter items. Israel has only allowed a fraction of the shelter aid to enter Gaza, and, according to the UN secretary-general’s spokesperson, “millions” of shelter items are sitting in Jordan, Egypt and Israel, pending approval to enter Gaza. In addition to the humanitarian crisis, Israel has continued its military activity in Gaza, despite the ceasefire. This week, the activity has largely occurred inside the Yellow Line, which demarcates the territory controlled by Israel as per the agreement. The war “has not ended,” as Prime Minister Netanyahu put it on Monday. Today , Israeli strikes near Khan Yunis killed three Palestinians. Israel also launched strikes in Lebanon this week against Hezbollah targets, the militant group in Lebanon that Israel claims is attempting to rebuild its military capabilities, which Israel has significantly degraded over the last two years. On Thursday , the IDF’s warplanes attacked underground infrastructure in southern Lebanon that it called a Hezbollah “weapons depot.” There is currently a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in effect since November of 2024, yet Israel has intensified strikes recently, accusing Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild. Finally, Palestinians in the West Bank were again reminded of escalating settler violence as settlers torched and defaced a mosque on Thursday in Salfit. Parts of the mosque, called the Hajjah Hamidah Mosque, were set on fire by the settlers, who also sprayed it with graffiti messages, including “Mohammed is a pig” in Hebrew. The IDF said it dispatched forces to the scene to “review the incident and conduct scans.” This event is part of a larger trend of unchecked settler attacks on Palestinian houses, villages and farms in the West Bank. In summary, the ceasefire in Gaza is holding, although Palestinians still face an overwhelming humanitarian crisis. Israeli strikes in both Gaza and Lebanon are ongoing, and the West Bank remains plagued with violence from settlers.

Israeli strikes continue in Gaza this week amid various challenges to the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas negotiated by President Trump in October. Meanwhile, Israel has carried out strikes in southern Lebanon against what it says are Hezbollah targets. Despite the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Gaza’s condition is unstable and has been defined by numerous obstacles. Following a tumultuous week that saw Israeli bombardment, fake hostage recoveries staged by Hamas, and other unclear reports of fighting in the Strip, the situation has stabilized only slightly. Israeli strikes have continued into this week. Just in the last 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that one person has been killed and five wounded by Israeli strikes . Since the beginning of the ceasefire, Israeli forces have killed over 241 Palestinians. Most have been accused by Israel of crossing the “Yellow Line,” which demarcates the territory Israel controls as per the ceasefire agreement. However, locations targeted have been outside the Yellow Line. In addition to the ongoing strikes this week, humanitarian agencies say that too little aid is currently entering Gaza. Following the ceasefire, many expected aid to flood the territory, but according to experts, less than a third of the expected amount of aid has actually reached Gaza. Israel maintains that it has been abiding by the terms of the agreement, which call for an average of 600 trucks into Gaza a day. However, on Friday , a US official announced that the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center would replace Israel in regulating aid entry into Gaza. An Israeli security official said that Israel would still be involved in policy and make joint decisions with the CMCC. However, it appears that the CMCC will take the lead role in aid distribution. In other news, Israel launched strikes in Lebanon this week that it said were targeting Hezbollah, a political and paramilitary group based in Lebanon that is designated a terrorist organization by many countries. Israel claimed that the strikes were in response to what it said were attempts by Hezbollah to rebuild operations in the region and “reestablish terrorist infrastructure.” Prior to the strikes, the IDF issued multiple warnings for civilians to evacuate. In November 2024, Hezbollah and Israel agreed on a US-brokered ceasefire deal that is technically in effect. However, Israeli strikes have been ongoing since then, with Israel accusing Hezbollah of breaching the deal and Hezbollah denying the accusations. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who has made it his policy to disarm Hezbollah, condemned the recent Israeli strikes, writing on X, “The more Lebanon expresses its openness to the path of peaceful negotiation to resolve outstanding issues with Israel, the more Israel intensifies its aggression against Lebanese sovereignty.” The situation this week remains unstable, yet the ceasefire deals in both Gaza and Lebanon still formally stand. The US’ continued involvement in Gaza will prove very important in the coming weeks.

This week was marked by numerous violations of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, challenging the optimism that civilians and leaders alike expressed following Trump’s negotiation of the deal. While disputes between Israel and Hamas have been ongoing since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, tensions escalated this week over Hamas’ delay in releasing the remaining deceased Israeli hostages still in Gaza. Hamas offered multiple excuses for the delay, including that the destruction Israel inflicted on Gaza created challenges in locating the hostages’ bodies. Hamas also claimed that some of its fighters who had buried the bodies are dead, and others do not remember where they had buried them. Israel claims that Hamas knows the location of every hostage. On Monday, the IDF released drone footage that it said showed Hamas members “removing body remains from a structure that had been prepared in advance and burying them nearby.” Then, according to the IDF, the Hamas members called Red Cross representatives and pretended to recover a deceased hostage’s body. Hamas denied the allegations. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) later denounced what it called the “fake recovery.” On Tuesday, tensions continued to rise when a shooting in Gaza killed an IDF soldier who was operating on the Israeli side of the “Yellow Line,” the boundary of IDF-controlled territory in Gaza. Hamas denied any connection to the shooting of the soldier. That night, Israel deployed an intense series of strikes on Gaza that killed at least 104 civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. 46 children and 20 women were killed, along with 250 people injured from the strikes. The bombardment hit homes, schools, and neighborhood blocks. The next morning, Israel announced that the strikes were on “dozens of terror targets and terrorists” and in response to Hamas’ violations. Israel also declared that it had resumed the ceasefire, but hours later, the IDF carried out another strike in Northern Gaza that it said targeted the organization of an imminent attack. The situation seemed to calm down on Friday , when the ICRC transferred three bodies to Israeli authorities and 30 bodies to Gazan authorities. However, without providing further details, Israel said that the remains it received of the three bodies did not belong to any of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th, 2023. On a separate note, getting aid into Gaza remains a challenge due to Israeli restrictions. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Government Media Office, only 24% of the agreed aid is entering Gaza. This week raises serious uncertainty over whether the ceasefire will survive over the coming days and weeks, and especially regarding the next phases of the deal, which involve even more complicated issues like governance and disarmament. More will be seen as time goes on.

This week started off on a hopeful note as world leaders convened in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for a peace summit regarding Gaza, co-chaired by Egyptian President el-Sisi and U.S. President Trump. However, later this week, violence again arose in Gaza. On Monday , following an emotional weekend for Israelis and Palestinians, leaders from around thirty countries met in the U.S.-Egyptian co-led Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt. “A new and beautiful day is rising and now the rebuilding begins,” said President Trump at the summit, who had negotiated the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas the week before. The summit focused on the next stages of Trump’s twenty point peace plan and the future of Gaza, which Trump framed in very optimistic terms, even as Palestinians now return to find their homes, neighborhoods and cities completely obliterated. “Rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part,” Trump asserted. “We know how to build better than anybody in the world.” Representatives from Israel and Hamas did not attend the summit. Afterwards, Trump and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey issued “ The Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity ”, a statement on the future of the conflict. “We pursue a comprehensive vision of peace, security, and shared prosperity in the region, grounded in the principles of mutual respect and shared destiny,” the statement said. The statement did not include any specific details or an actionable framework on how to achieve peace, however. Earlier today, the ceasefire experienced a major test. Israel reported that two of its soldiers were killed by Palestinian militants. The Palestinians attacked Israeli forces who were operating in an area where the ceasefire deal allowed them to be. According to Israel, the militants had fired an anti-tank missile at its troops. In response, Israeli forces targeted the area with strikes. Hamas said that it was “unaware of any events or clashes taking place in the Rafah area,” claiming to have lost communication with fighters there months ago. Israel escalated its attacks later in the day, striking dozens of Hamas targets throughout Gaza. Following the deaths of the soldiers, Israel also said it had temporarily halted humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip. This is not the first flare up since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas this week. On Friday, the Israeli military fired on a vehicle in Northern Gaza and killed nine people, including four children, according to a Gaza rescue service associated with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. Israel said that the vehicle had entered a zone to which the IDF had withdrawn as part of the ceasefire agreement. The “suspicious” vehicle had ignored warning shots after crossing the demarcation line, according to the IDF. Israel has warned Gazans against crossing lines and approaching troops in Israeli-controlled areas. However, many Gazans — some who lack internet and others who are lost among the ruins of the strip — do not know when they have entered such an area. But, thankfully, the ceasefire appears to have withstood this escalation as Israel and Hamas both reaffirmed their commitment to the deal. Israel announced that aid deliveries would be resumed on Monday. The survival of the ceasefire again evoked relief in Israelis and Palestinians still recovering from the war, who pray that it will last.

Arguably, the most important event this week in international affairs occurred in the Middle East: the beginning of an official ceasefire in Gaza, agreed to by Israel and Hamas on Wednesday and mediated by U.S. President Trump. The deal, which is in its first stage, has massive implications. Last Sunday , meetings bringing Israel and Hamas to the negotiating table began in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh. Turkish, Qatari and Egyptian tactical teams and officials facilitated the negotiations. On Wednesday morning, Jared Kushner and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Sharm El Sheikh. There, they continued working to reach an initial agreement between Israel and Hamas and to resolve issues that had recently emerged over the redeployment of IDF troops and the timing of the hostage release. During the meetings, they established two phases of the peace plan, the first being a hostage release and the second being a near permanent ceasefire with ongoing negotiations on governance, disarmament and withdrawal. On Wednesday evening in Sharm El Sheikh, the deal experienced “very serious breakthroughs,” as described by a U.S. official. One of these “breakthroughs” was the unanimous agreement reached on the release of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. A few hours later, on Wednesday evening in the U.S., Trump took to Truth Social to announce the deal. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS,” Trump wrote. Following a meeting with Egyptian President El-Sisi, Witkoff and Kushner flew to Tel Aviv to meet with Israeli President Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu. U.S. officials did express caution regarding the implementation of the deal, emphasizing the need to “make sure everyone fulfills their obligations.” Trump, on Friday , ordered the deployment of U.S. troops to Israel to oversee the ceasefire as the conditions of its first phase are met. The troops come from the U.S. Central Command, and none will enter Gaza. Under the terms of the ceasefire , Hamas has until 12:00 pm local time on Monday to release the remaining hostages. Trump, along with other members of his administration, is currently on his way to Israel for the hostage release. Israel will release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and over 1,700 detainees from Gaza — including women and children — arrested after Hamas’ October 7th attacks. Immediately following the hostage release , Trump is expected to co-chair a summit in Egypt with El-Sisi that will draw over twenty world leaders. The summit’s focus will be the future of Gaza and “efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East,” according to El-Sisi’s website. As anticipation builds for the hostage release, Palestinian civilians are making their way back to Northern Gaza after almost two exhausting years of relentless displacement, bombing and hunger. Meanwhile, internal violence has escalated in Gaza as Hamas reportedly attempts to reassert control over areas recently withdrawn from by IDF troops. Hamas has recalled thousands of its fighters for this purpose, with armed units already allegedly deployed in several districts. Hamas denies this. Killings between Hamas and the Gazan Dughmush clan have ramped up within the last few days. This development presents another obstacle to Trump’s plan, which centers around Hamas’ disarmament and a new government for Gaza. But despite these emerging issues, optimism is high among Israelis and Palestinians, who wait nervously for the upcoming aspects of the ceasefire deal to unfold. This coming week will definitely be full of developments.

This week in Israel and Gaza was, without a doubt, defined by the prospect of a ceasefire deal negotiated by President Trump. While the last near two years have been replete with failed proposals and negotiations, hope surrounds this current deal, having been seemingly accepted by both Israel and Hamas. On Monday, Trump announced a 20-point plan that would serve as a roadmap for the end to the war. The plan consists of many conditions. Following acceptance from Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces would withdraw to an “agreed upon line” and all military operations would halt. Following Israel’s public acceptance of the deal, “all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned” by Hamas within a 72 hour window. The deal also stipulated the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life, along with 1,700 Gazans detained post-October 7th, including all women and children. The deal pointed to a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” as the interim Gazan government, which would be succeeded by a reformed Palestinian Authority. Hamas would have no role in governance and would need to disarm. The deal was presented at a White House conference between Trump and Netanyahu. Trump applied significant pressure on Netanyahu during the meeting, facilitating a humiliating phone call between him and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani . Netanyahu apologized to the prime minister for the strike Israel had carried out on Doha, targeting Hamas officials in the midst of peace talks, weeks earlier. Trump’s pressure succeeded, and Netanyahu accepted the deal that day. Five days followed Israel’s acceptance of the deal before Hamas’ response. During this period, Israel continued its destructive military campaign in Gaza City, carrying out daily strikes killing dozens of Gazans. Hamas did not release any Israeli hostages as per the deal’s instruction. However, on Friday, Hamas released a statement accepting some parts of Trump’s twenty points and leaving others unaddressed . Hamas agreed to release all of the Israeli hostages in accordance with Trump’s plan. Additionally, Hamas expressed support for a Palestinian body of technocrats to take power in Gaza following the end to the war. But Hamas did not address one of Trump’s most significant demands — disarmament — casting doubt on the actual success of the deal. Nevertheless, Trump welcomed Hamas’ response, posting on Truth Social, “I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE.” Leading up to the statement, Trump had been intensifying his pressure on Hamas, giving ultimatums and promising “all hell” if the group failed to accept the deal. But following Hamas’ somewhat ambiguous agreement, Trump quickly shifted the pressure back onto Netanyahu, calling on Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza.” Clearly, Trump wants this deal to come to fruition. Although some uncertainty surrounds the ongoing situation, hopes are high for an end to the war — something that could not be said for the entirety of the past few months. This week seems like it will end tomorrow on a cautiously optimistic note.

Months of escalating violence in Gaza City culminated this week in the beginning of Israel’s ground invasion of the area. In other news, Israel launched a strike on Lebanon that killed American citizens, including children. Additionally, a string of powerful Western countries formally announced their recognition of Palestinian statehood. Israel’s move to begin its ground invasion of Gaza City occurred on Tuesday , following a period of heavy Israeli bombing intensifying by the day. Last week, Israel issued an evacuation order for Gaza City residents, indicating the imminence of a major assault. The invasion a few days ago generated widespread terror in the city among Palestinians, already exhausted from nearly two years of brutality. According to the Israeli military, approximately 400,000 Gazans have evacuated from northern Gaza, including Gaza City, as of the beginning of the invasion, heading to the South where most displaced Palestinians are concentrated. However, half a million Palestinians are estimated to remain in northern Gaza, with hundreds of thousands in Gaza City alone. On the same day, independent experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council joined a growing number of international organizations accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza . It should be noted that the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, which issued the report, does not speak for the UN itself. Of course, the Israeli government vehemently denied the allegation, maintaining that it is targeting Hamas. In addition to its conclusion, the report called for international intervention to put a stop to the war. Although tangible international intervention against the war has yet to meaningfully take place, Britain, Canada, and Australia have followed up on their recent pledges to recognize a Palestinian state with formal recognition today . Their announcements were joined later today by Portugal. This week, countries will convene at the 80th UN General Assembly, where France and various other countries are expected to issue their formal recognitions as well. These actions drew forceful condemnation from Israeli government officials, including Netanyahu, who accused the countries of rewarding Hamas and terrorism. Netanyahu declared that “there will be no Palestinian state.” The coordinated announcements and Israel’s defiant remarks represent both a growing willingness among Western countries to express sympathy for Palestinians and a growing Israeli indifference towards international perception. Also today, Israel killed five people in a strike on Lebanon , including a father and three of his children, who were American citizens. The mother was left in critical condition. The strike took place in Bint Jbeil, located in the south of Lebanon. Israel claimed it was targeting a Hezbollah operator, who it said was also killed in the strike. The IDF said it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals” and that the strike is under review. Despite the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah negotiated last year, Israel has continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon. While international leaders recite decades-old incantations of a two-state solution, the on-the-ground situation remains hopeless.

This week was defined by yet another escalation of Israel’s brutal campaign in Gaza City, a Palestinian terror attack against Israelis in Jerusalem, an Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar, and an overwhelming endorsement by the UN General Assembly of the New York Declaration, a resolution supporting the two-state solution. On Monday, two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in East Jerusalem, killing six Israelis. Footage shows a crowd of civilians running from the bus stop as shots can be heard in the background. According to Israeli police, the attackers were shot dead on the scene by an Israeli soldier and an armed civilian. Over 20 civilians were left injured, including six in critical condition due to gunshot wounds. The Palestinian gunmen were reportedly from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has experienced rising Israeli settler and soldier violence in the last near two years. Meanwhile, Tuesday saw another escalation in Israel’s ongoing operations in Gaza City. Israel ordered a full evacuation of Gaza City, home to around one million Palestinians, urging them to travel south to Gaza’s al-Mawasi area. Israel plans to occupy the city, a move that it has defended against widespread international — and also domestic — condemnation. “This is only the beginning,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after the evacuation warning was issued. This week, Israel has intensified its aerial bombardments over Gaza City, striking down high-rises and destroying entire apartment blocks. Gazans are exhausted after over 23 months of killing, displacement and starvation, but an end to the war is nowhere in sight. Talks between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire deal have fallen apart. Just on Wednesday, Israel carried out an attack against Hamas officials in Qatar, killing five members of Hamas and also a Qatari security official. The Hamas officials targeted in the strike were part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations. The international community quickly condemned the Israeli strike. Even President Trump expressed disapproval, saying, “I’m not thrilled.” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, stated that Israel’s attack “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.” The strike — along with Israel’s intensifying campaign in Gaza — indicates a lack of respect for ceasefire negotiations and disinterest in ending the war among the Israeli government. The government’s actions have not only drawn international condemnation but the ire of many Israelis themselves, who are also tired of war and desperately await the release of the hostage. Lastly, on Friday, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of the New York Declaration, which calls for the end of the war, release of the hostages, revival of peace talks, and the two-state solution. The declaration originated at a UN conference in July hosted by France and Saudi Arabia. The vote was 142–10, with the US and Israel being two of the 10 countries who voted against the resolution. Just before the vote, Netanyahu asserted, “There will be no Palestinian state.” Like so many others, this week has ended on a negative note, with never-ending chaos and violence.