What to Expect Next in the Gaza Peace Plan Negotiations

Negotiations on the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire continue without significant progress at a moment when the truce appears particularly fragile. The United States, alongside Qatar and Egypt, secured a truce in Gaza that came into effect on October 10 and has mostly halted two years of war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. The United Nations has since endorsed President Donald Trump’s peace plan, yet there has been little progress over issues of reconstruction and post-war governance. AFP explains what could happen next: The ceasefire was the result of Trump’s pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. It remains fragile as both sides accuse each other almost daily of violations. Trump’s plan has various stages: a truce, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and setting up a new administration for Gaza, and then finally the reconstruction of the territory levelled by Israel’s retaliatory military campaign. The first phase included: a withdrawal of Israeli forces on October 10 to a line that still gave them military control of over half of Gaza. The release of all hostages, living or dead, held by Hamas or its allies. An increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza.