In a region where the word "ceasefire" often feels more like a pause button than a promise, the latest truce between Israel and Hamas is teetering on a knife-edge. Over the past week, a series of violent incidents and political maneuvers have tested the durability of the U.S.-backed agreement, with both sides accusing the other of violations and families of hostages caught in the crossfire—literally and figuratively.
On Monday, October 20, 2025, Trump administration envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel, tasked with shoring up the fragile ceasefire that took effect just ten days earlier. Vice President JD Vance was set to follow on Tuesday, underlining the urgency with which Washington is treating this latest Middle East flashpoint. According to Just the News, their arrival coincided with a fresh wave of violence over the preceding weekend, which had already cast a shadow over the agreement.
The truce, painstakingly negotiated in Egypt, was supposed to halt the bloodshed and allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. For a few days, it seemed to work: aid deliveries ramped up, and both sides briefly dialed back their rhetoric. But by Wednesday, October 15, Israel had halved the daily number of aid trucks from 600 to 300, citing Hamas’s failure to return the bodies of all deceased Israeli hostages as required under the deal. As Reuters reported, this reduction in aid inflamed tensions on the ground, with Hamas accusing Israel of using humanitarian relief as a bargaining chip.
The ceasefire’s terms were clear: Hamas was to release all living hostages and return the bodies of the dead. While the group did hand over 20 living captives and nine of the 28 deceased, it claimed the remaining 19 bodies were buried under rubble and would require heavy machinery to recover—a logistical nightmare in a territory devastated by months of conflict. According to BBC News, Hamas insisted it had returned all bodies it could "easily reach" and would need special equipment to locate the others.
Israel, for its part, remained adamant. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset on Monday that his government would uphold the ceasefire as long as Hamas returned all deceased hostages and eventually disarmed, ceding political control of Gaza to an international coalition being organized by the United States. Netanyahu reportedly met with Kushner shortly before his speech, emphasizing the importance of "the security challenges" and "the diplomatic opportunities" that lay ahead.
Yet, the reality on the ground was anything but stable. On Sunday, October 19, Israeli forces launched a series of airstrikes on Gaza after militants attacked Israeli troops, killing two soldiers. Humanitarian aid deliveries were temporarily halted, and all border crossings to the enclave were closed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later announced that it had "renewed the adherence to the ceasefire" after what it described as a "violation by Hamas." In a statement on X, the military vowed, "The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it." Hamas, however, denied responsibility for the attack, with its armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claiming it had lost contact with any militants in the zone after the Israeli invasion.
The violence was not limited to Israeli-Hamas clashes. Since the Israeli withdrawal, Hamas fighters have been reasserting control over Gaza, executing suspected collaborators and battling rival factions. The Doghmush family, once influential in Gaza’s previous administration, reported that 28 of its members were killed by Hamas after the Israeli pullout, denying any collaboration with Israel. Videos of public executions circulated widely, and official Hamas channels described the killings as part of a "security campaign" targeting "collaborators, mercenaries, thieves, bandits, and those cooperating with the Zionist entity." According to Just the News, these actions highlight the group’s efforts to stamp out dissent and consolidate power.
The risk of further escalation is real, and U.S. officials are not blind to it. Vice President Vance, speaking to reporters on Sunday, warned that “some of those [Hamas] cells will probably honor the ceasefire. Many of those cells, as we saw some evidence of today, will not.” He added that establishing lasting peace would require Gulf Arab states to deploy forces on the ground to maintain law and order—a prospect that remains highly uncertain.
Meanwhile, the families of Israeli hostages have grown increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of body recoveries. On Thursday, October 16, the Hostage Families Forum Headquarters issued a stark statement: “The agreement cannot continue to be implemented without Hamas returning all the hostages. Any decision that weakens pressure on Hamas or allows the agreement to continue while hostages remain unreturned would be a grave moral and leadership failure.” This marked a dramatic shift from their previous advocacy for a ceasefire, signaling just how much the mood has soured as the stalemate drags on.
President Donald Trump has not shied away from the fray. Late last week, he threatened that there would be “no choice but to go in and kill” Hamas if it continued its attacks, a comment that did little to cool tempers. Earlier, he had likened Hamas’s execution of alleged collaborators to gang violence and even drew parallels to U.S. strikes on Venezuelan “drug boats.” Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump insisted, “We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas, and as you know, they’ve been quite rambunctious. They’ve been doing some shooting and we think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that. Some rebels within, but either way, it’s going to be handled properly.”
As for the path forward, Kushner and Witkoff have outlined ambitious plans to disarm Hamas, including a proposed weapons buy-back program. However, details remain scarce, and skepticism abounds. Terrorism expert Joe Truzman told Just the News last week, “When negotiations reach more consequential stages, particularly the issue of disarmament, it is improbable that Hamas will surrender its weapons. Armed movements built on ‘resistance’ ideology do not voluntarily lay down arms; their weapons are central to their identity and power.” He added, “Disarming Hamas would also require the disarmament of its allied factions in Gaza. It’s a highly unlikely outcome.”
Despite these doubts, Israeli officials appear reluctant to rekindle full-scale hostilities, wary of being blamed for the collapse of President Trump’s ceasefire plan. As Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian reaffirmed on Thursday, “Israel remains committed to the agreement and continues to uphold its obligations, demanding Hamas return the bodies of the 19 deceased hostages it has not handed over.”
Amid the political wrangling and sporadic violence, life in Gaza remains precarious. The enclave’s Rafah crossing with Egypt is set to reopen for the movement of people, but not for aid deliveries, according to Israel’s military aid agency Cogat. All humanitarian goods must now pass through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing after security inspections, further complicating relief efforts in a territory already reduced to rubble.
The coming days will likely determine whether this ceasefire is just another fleeting lull or the first step toward a more durable peace. For now, the people of Gaza and Israel wait—anxiously, impatiently, and with little faith that the guns will stay silent for long.
