Ramallah, West Bank – October 20, 2025 – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on all parties to solidify the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and adhere strictly to the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan, a roadmap aimed at ending the devastating two-year conflict in the enclave. Speaking during a high-level meeting in Ramallah with United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher, Abbas underscored the urgency of implementing the plan’s provisions to prevent the unraveling of a truce just 10 days old, as sporadic violence and logistical challenges threaten its stability.
In his remarks, reported by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Abbas emphasized the need for immediate action. "We renew our call to all concerned parties to commit to the first phase of the U.S. president's plan, to solidify the ceasefire, hand over hostages and prisoners, allow aid entry, ensure the withdrawal of occupation forces, proceed to reconstruction, and stop the Israeli government’s undermining of the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution," he stated. His words reflect a broader Palestinian push to reclaim administrative control over Gaza, integrating it with the West Bank under unified governance—a vision long stymied by internal divisions and external pressures.
The meeting with Fletcher, who had recently returned from assessing conditions in Gaza, highlighted the intertwined diplomatic and humanitarian efforts. Abbas affirmed the readiness of Palestinian state institutions to assume full administrative responsibility in Gaza, linking it to the West Bank through established laws, personnel, and structures. This transition, he noted, would require robust Arab and international support, including coordination with stabilization forces potentially authorized by a UN Security Council resolution. "Palestine is prepared to work with President Trump and all mediators and partners to complete the next phase toward achieving lasting peace in accordance with international resolutions," Abbas added, signaling openness to U.S.-led negotiations while insisting on frameworks like the Oslo Accords and UN resolutions endorsing a two-state solution.
Fletcher provided a sobering account of Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, detailing UN efforts to expedite aid delivery. He praised the Palestinian Authority’s institutional capacity but stressed the critical role of the United Nations and its affiliate, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in sustaining essential services for refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and host countries. In a subsequent meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in Ramallah, Fletcher reiterated that UN agencies must work in full cooperation with Palestinian institutions, noting that bypassing them would undermine relief and reconstruction goals.
Mustafa echoed Abbas’s stance, emphasizing that Gaza’s reconstruction must be led by the Palestinian Authority with support from Arab and international partners. He stressed the need to empower Palestinian institutions to operate effectively in Gaza with UN backing and warned against any administrative or security vacuum that could invite chaos. The discussions come at a critical moment: just a day earlier, on October 19, Israeli airstrikes—retaliatory to an attack that killed two IDF soldiers—claimed 26 Palestinian lives in Gaza, raising fears of escalation. Israeli officials confirmed the truce’s resumption and pledged to restart aid deliveries on October 20, averting a full collapse but exposing the ceasefire’s fragility.
To understand Abbas’s urgency, it’s essential to revisit the ceasefire’s origins. On September 29, 2025, President Trump unveiled his 20-point Gaza peace plan during a White House press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Billed as a comprehensive roadmap to end the war sparked on October 7, 2023, by Hamas’s deadly assault on southern Israel, which killed 1,195 people, including 815 civilians, the proposal outlined phased steps toward de-escalation and rebuilding. The first phase, endorsed by Israel and Hamas on October 9 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, mandated an immediate ceasefire, the phased release of all remaining hostages (48 living and deceased Israelis held by Hamas) in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, unrestricted humanitarian aid flows, partial Israeli withdrawal to predefined lines, and the establishment of a technocratic Palestinian committee for interim governance. Brokered by mediators from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye, the deal took effect on October 10, marking the first sustained halt in hostilities since a brief November 2023 truce and a collapsed March 2025 effort.
Implementation has seen both progress and challenges. By October 13, Hamas had transferred the remains of accessible hostages, while Israel released over 1,900 detainees, many convicted of serious offenses but barred from the West Bank upon return to Gaza. Aid convoys—up to 600 trucks daily—began entering via Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, delivering food, medical supplies, and equipment for rubble clearance and infrastructure repair, aligning with quantities agreed upon in a January 2025 accord. Thousands of displaced Gazans have trekked northward to salvage their homes, navigating craters and debris in scenes reminiscent of post-apocalyptic landscapes. Israeli forces withdrew to a "yellow line" buffer, minimizing direct contact, though incidents like the October 19 soldier deaths—attributed to Hamas militants—have tested the truce’s resilience.
The plan’s second phase poses greater challenges, envisioning Hamas’s full disarmament, decommissioning, and exit from governance—offering amnesty to compliant members or safe passage abroad—alongside Gaza’s demilitarization and transition to a "Board of Peace" oversight body chaired by Trump, potentially including figures like former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Reconstruction, estimated at $50 billion over a decade, hinges on international donors and Arab states like Qatar and Türkiye, who committed recovery experts at a Sharm el-Sheikh summit on October 13. Trump hailed the deal as ushering "enduring peace and prosperity," with endorsements from over 20 nations, but critics, including Palestinian analysts, highlight loopholes allowing Israel to resume operations if violations occur, potentially perpetuating a cycle of violence. Hamas, facing pressure from famine-weary Gazans, has signaled willingness to negotiate disarmament but insists on linking it to broader Palestinian statehood talks.
The war’s human toll underscores the stakes. Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s military campaign—described by some as genocidal—has killed at least 68,172 Palestinians and injured over 170,105, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry as of October 19, 2025. These figures, excluding thousands presumed buried under rubble or lost to disease and malnutrition, represent nearly 10% of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million. Children account for at least 30% of fatalities, with over 2,596 orphans and 53,724 losing a parent. Gaza now holds the grim record for the highest per capita rate of child amputees globally, worsened by the destruction of 80% of its healthcare infrastructure: only 14 of 36 hospitals remain partially functional, following 735 attacks that killed 917 medical personnel and wounded 1,411 others. On the Israeli side, 1,983 have died, including 466 soldiers and over 900 from related regional clashes with Hezbollah and Iran.
Internecine violence adds further complexity. Post-ceasefire, Hamas has clashed with rival factions, executing perceived collaborators in public spectacles that have inflamed tensions and prompted U.S. warnings of severe consequences if internal killings persist. Far-right Israeli figures like Itamar Ben-Gvir have urged Netanyahu to resume "maximum force," while Palestinian families in Khan Younis and Gaza City sift through ruins manually, denied heavy machinery due to security protocols.
Abbas’s intervention is thus both diplomatic and existential, a lifeline for a population on the brink. By emphasizing UNRWA’s role—despite funding threats from critics who deem it biased—he positions the Palestinian Authority as the legitimate steward of Gaza’s future, countering Hamas’s erstwhile dominance. Fletcher’s visit, part of a broader tour including the Sharm summit, reinforces UN commitment: "This is a moment of great but precarious hope," he stated in Cairo, urging global action to prevent relapse.
As mediators prepare for phase two talks, the burden rests on Trump, Netanyahu, and Abbas to bridge divides. Optimism flickers—families reunite, markets stir with aid—but analysts caution that entrenched obstacles, from Hamas’s arsenal to Israel’s security demands, persist. For Gazans piecing together lives amid the rubble, Abbas’s call is a plea rooted in survival: consolidate the ceasefire now, or risk losing yet another chance at peace.
