WASHINGTON — In a dramatic escalation of diplomatic momentum, U.S. President Donald Trump declared the initiation of "phase two" of the Gaza ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, just days after the emotional release of the final 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The announcement, posted on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, capped a whirlwind week of high-stakes negotiations and marked what Trump hailed as a "historic dawn" for the Middle East, even as the region grapples with the staggering human cost of the two-year conflict.
"All twenty hostages are back and feeling as good as can be expected," Trump wrote in his characteristic all-caps style. "A big burden has been lifted, but the job is not done. The dead have not been returned, as promised! Phase Two begins right now!!!" The post, which garnered over 5 million views within hours, underscored the incomplete nature of the deal: While all living captives have been freed, the remains of 24 deceased Israelis remain unrecovered from Gaza's rubble-strewn tunnels and battlefields, a sticking point that mediators say could test the truce's fragility.
The hostage-prisoner swap, executed under the first phase of the U.S.-brokered framework, saw Hamas release the 20 survivors in exchange for Israel freeing nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees— including 250 serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis and over 1,700 arrested during the war. The exchanges unfolded in waves over Monday, October 13, with Red Cross buses ferrying the freed Palestinians into Gaza amid jubilant crowds in Khan Younis and Ramallah, where families waved flags and chanted "Allahu Akbar." In Israel, tearful reunions played out at Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, where throngs of supporters, many donning red "Trump the Peace President" caps, erupted in song and cheers as the hostages' convoy arrived under military escort.
This phase one success was no small feat, coming after two prior ceasefires—in November 2023 and January 2025—collapsed amid mutual accusations of violations. The January 2025 truce, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S., unraveled in March when Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Gaza, citing Hamas's refusal to advance to phase two negotiations. Those attacks reignited a brutal ground offensive, pushing the Palestinian death toll past 67,000 by mid-October 2025, according to Gaza's Health Ministry—figures corroborated by a January 2025 Lancet study estimating over 70,000 traumatic injury deaths by late 2024 alone, with indirect fatalities from disease and starvation likely pushing the total higher. The ministry reports that nearly a third of the dead were children under 18, and over 59% were women, children, or the elderly, with entire families—such as one of 14 members—wiped out in single strikes. Independent surveys, including a June 2025 medRxiv preprint, peg the toll closer to 84,000 by early 2025, factoring in those buried under rubble or lost to famine.
The enclave's devastation is equally grim: Over 193,000 buildings—about 70% of Gaza's housing stock—lie in ruins, per UN Satellite Centre analysis from July 2025. Hospitals, schools, and ancient sites, from Ottoman markets to medieval mosques, have been pulverized, with the World Health Organization documenting 735 attacks on healthcare facilities by June 2025, killing 917 and injuring 1,411. Famine grips the north, where 500,000 people survive on less than nine liters of water daily—a tenth of pre-war levels—and 745,000 students have missed two academic years. Israeli losses stand at 466 soldiers killed and 2,951 wounded since the October 27, 2023, ground invasion, alongside 1,200 civilians slain in Hamas's initial October 7 assault.
Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan, unveiled on September 29, 2025, during a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, emerged from months of backchannel diplomacy. Drawing on proposals from Arab states, Europe, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair—who consulted with Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh as recently as October 12— the framework was hammered out by Trump's envoys, including son-in-law Jared Kushner and special representative Steve Witkoff. A pivotal September 23 New York summit with Arab leaders refined the outline, blending hostage releases with aid surges and phased withdrawals.
Phase one, activated October 10, halted hostilities, enabled the swaps, and opened Rafah Crossing for unrestricted aid—though Israel briefly blocked convoys on October 14 after reports of "suspects" near troops, killing nine Palestinians in skirmishes. Now, phase two—kicking off immediately per Trump's decree—shifts to governance overhaul: establishing a technocratic interim administration for Gaza, potentially transitioning to a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA), forming a multinational stabilization force led by the U.S., and enforcing Hamas's disarmament. The International Stabilisation Force (ISF), comprising around 200 troops from Arab and Western partners, would vet and train local police while monitoring the truce—no U.S. boots on the ground, Trump emphasized. Reconstruction funding, pledged by Gulf states at the summit, aims to transform Gaza into a "Riviera of the Middle East," echoing Trump's February 2025 vision.
The blueprint's guarantors— the U.S., Türkiye, Qatar, and Egypt— formalized commitments at a landmark summit in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort on Monday, October 13. Co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the gathering drew over 20 leaders, including Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, but notably excluded Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu, invited at Trump's urging, cited the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah for his absence, though rumors swirled of Erdoğan's veto threat over ICC warrants against the Israeli leader. PA President Mahmoud Abbas attended, signaling tentative buy-in for a governance role, but his officials stressed "reforms" must empower Palestinians, not sideline them.
In Sharm el-Sheikh's sun-drenched conference halls, Trump, flanked by Rubio and Hegseth, signed the "Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity," a multi-page pact outlining responsibilities for peace enforcement and aid. "This is not only the end of war—it's the end of an age of terror and death," Trump proclaimed, vowing to extend the model to Iran and Ukraine. Al-Sisi called it the "last chance" for regional peace, urging a sovereign Palestinian state as the only bulwark against recurrence. Erdoğan, who positioned Türkiye as a linchpin by hosting Hamas talks and joining a task force to recover hostage remains, echoed the sentiment, thanking Trump for "political will" while insisting on Palestinian sovereignty. Qatar's emir, whose nation sheltered Hamas leaders, committed to reconstruction financing, drawing on its gas wealth.
Yet, euphoria tempers with caution. Hamas, via Doha channels, affirmed willingness to exit governance but only if disarming yields to a "Palestinian-led force," rejecting full demilitarization without Israeli reciprocity. Israeli far-right ministers, like Itamar Ben-Gvir, threaten to derail aid if remains aren't returned promptly, while Netanyahu's coalition resists PA involvement, favoring indefinite IDF presence along the Philadelphi Corridor. On Tuesday, the IDF fired on "suspects" breaching withdrawal lines, killing several and prompting Hamas accusations of sabotage. UN experts warn that without swift aid—now flowing but insufficient—the north's famine could claim thousands more.
Trump's personal diplomacy proved pivotal. A UN sidelines chat in September, brokered by the UAE, sold Arab states on his vision, while blunt calls to Netanyahu—"This is a win. Take it"—overrode hawkish doubts. Rubio's mid-October 8 White House note—"Very close"—sealed phase one's approval. Critics, including Palestinian Americans, decry the plan's asymmetry, noting U.S. arms to Israel amid genocide allegations by a UN inquiry. Still, global figures like Canada's Mark Carney praised Trump's "essential leadership," with Blair eyeing a "Board of Peace" to steer phase two.
As Palestinians trek north to salvage homes from debris—by foot, cart, or battered vehicle—the enclave teeters between ruin and renewal. Trump's phase two promises a "strong, durable, and everlasting peace," but experts like those at the Costs of War Project caution that indirect deaths from war's aftermath could double the toll without ironclad implementation. In Gaza City, a paramedic scrolls Trump's image on his phone amid al-Aqsa Hospital's wreckage, whispering hopes for a future beyond bombs. For now, the guns are silent, but the road to Sharm's promised "City of Peace" winds through minefields of mistrust.
