In recent months, the world has been closely following the ongoing efforts to broker peace between Israel and Hamas, following a devastating and drawn-out conflict that has taken a heavy toll on both sides. While previous ceasefire deals have crumbled under the weight of deep mistrust and conflicting agendas, new developments suggest a cautious shift toward dialogue and resolution. With the potential release of the last American hostage held in Gaza and renewed mediation efforts by international actors, there is a glimmer of hope. Yet, the road to lasting peace remains uncertain, fraught with political pressure, humanitarian crises, and the scars of violence that continue to shape the conversation.
With an overview of the Ceasefire agreement, the first Phase took place on January – March, 2025 with a hostage and prisoner exchange; Hamas released 33 Israel hostages, including children, women and the elderly, in return, Israel also release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners, some serving life sentence as part of the agreement. Whiles also a humanitarian Aid was initiated by the Israel who permitted 600 aid truck daily into Gaza, including fuel and medical supplies, also a military measure were agreed by the Isreal to a partial troop’s withdrawal and limited aerial operation over Gaza. Lastly a supervision ceasefire was overseen by Egypt, Qatar, the United Nations and the United States.
The second and third phase included in Phase 2; a planned to release all remaining Israeli hostage and furthers Israeli troop withdrawal, whiles the Phase 3 includes an Intended for the exchange of decease individual over Hama’s disarmament and governance in Gaza.
The Cease fire unraveled in March 2025 when Israel ceases aid deliveries to Gaza pressuring Hamas to accept the new terms. Hamas demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal and an end of hostilities before releasing additional hostage and In May 2025, Israel threatened a full-scale military operation “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” this is when Hamas did not agree to a partial deal involving the release of 8-10 hostage in exchange for a 45–60-day ceasefire. Hamas insisted on a comprehensive agreement.
Some of the reasons why the Isreal-Gaza Ceasefire collapse is due to the mistrust between both parties of the deep-rooted hostility and historical grievance led both Isreal and Hamas to doubt each other’s commitment to the terms of the deal also the Israel suspect that Hamas would regroup militarily during the ceasefire, while Hamas feared Israel would exploit the pause to shift the balance of power to their advantage.
Secondly the external interference and pressure from key regional player like Iran (Supporting Hamas) and Qatar (mediating but criticized by Israel) introduced conflicting agendas and also the U.S political pressure also shifted during the process, complicating negotiation dynamics and eroding consistency in international mediation.
Also, the unclear and staggered terms made the ceasefire deal which was designed in phases, but vague timeline and conditional releases of hostages and prisoners created confusion and friction for both parties, whiles Hamas also demanded a full Israeli withdrawal before releasing more hostages, while Israel wanted hostage first this made a deadlock on sequencing in the agreement.
And with a competing political and strategic interest both parties used the ceasefire as leverage to advance their political narratives and strategic goal, not necessarily to end hostilities. And this brought a domestic pressure on Israeli leadership and Hama’s need to maintain its image as a resistance group to undermined and sustained peace efforts.
As of May 11 2025, efforts to reestablish a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are gaining momentum, with significant development unfolding. The Hamas has announced it agreement to release Eden Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier and the last know living American hostage in Gaza as at the said date. This move is also seen as a goodwill gesture towards the united state and aims to facilitate renewed ceasefire discussion for all parties. This negotiation is to occur imminently and is part of broader efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire arrangement, including humanitarian aid to Gaza and a potential prisoners exchange.
In conclusion in other to develop a step toward a sustainable ceasefire to prevent future disruption and build a lasting peace we need to have a clear communication by establishing a transparent and consistent communication channels between all parties to build trust and clarity expectation, also we need a define terms clearing and outing the terms of any ceasefire agreement including timelines for hostage releases, prisoner exchanges and humanitarian aid deliveries, whiles taking this measure we also need to have an international mediation involving neutral international mediators to oversee the implementation of agreement and address violation promptly and also have addressing root cause when engaging in comprehensive discussion to tackle the underlying issues of the conflict, such as government in Gaza, security concern, and economic conditions.
