Giving Hamas Hope, Gaza’s Future Rests on Three Somewhat Contradictory Documents

The first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza is still in effect, but it remains so only because of a concerted diplomatic effort from the United States.

Four senior officials from the Trump administration came through Israel last week to make sure the ceasefire did not collapse, even after a deadly Hamas attack on IDF soldiers in Rafah last week and the terror group’s failure to hand over most of the slain hostages it was holding.

“Do not act in a way that would endanger the ceasefire. We want to do everything to reach the second phase,” top White House Middle East advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff reportedly told Netanyahu.

On Tuesday, Hamas struck again in Rafah, with a sniper killing an IDF reservist. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to carry out “powerful strikes” on targets in Gaza in response to Hamas’s violation of the ceasefire. Gaza’s Hamas-affiliated health authorities reported more than 100 dead.

But by Wednesday morning, the ceasefire was back on. Netanyahu had ordered the strikes before notifying the Trump administration, but only carried them out after giving that notice; US officials had reportedly pushed Israel to limit its response to the sniper attack and to Hamas playing games with the return of bodies of slain hostages.

Published originally on October 29, 2025.

Read the entire article at the Times of Israel.