People gather in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, prior to the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

Almost two years to the day after the war in Gaza began with the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, a narrow road has opened to the possibility of a real and lasting peace in the region. Under the fragile accord signed by Israel and Hamas on Oct. 9 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, both sides can celebrate developments that seemed out of reach just weeks ago: the release of hostages and prisoners on both sides; the cessation of Israel’s bombing campaign; a resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza; and a return to some degree of normalcy and safety for noncombatants.

If the agreement continues to be implemented, with Hamas relinquishing its arms in some fashion, Israel refraining from further attacks and some cooperative international presence being established to help guarantee security, perhaps the two sides can forsake the battlefield for the bargaining table. 

The editors of America have been critical of the actions of President Donald J. Trump regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since he retook office in January (and of President Joe Biden before him), but last week’s accord is a moment where credit should be given where credit is due. It is likely that this fragile cease-fire and rough plan for a lasting truce would not have been possible without Mr. Trump’s ultimatum that it was the last opportunity for peace. His resolve in pushing Israel into moving forward after Hamas’s initial acceptance of the terms rather than allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue to demand fuller compliance was crucial. In this case, the Trump administration’s idiosyncratic and unpredictable approach to diplomacy has achieved initial results worth praising, even as we continue to have grave concerns about its conduct at home.

The United States seems also to have achieved some diplomatic success in bringing the neighboring Arab states—whose influence and participation is crucial for any lasting peace—into the conversation in meaningful ways and relying on them to exert pressure on Hamas in parallel with U.S. pressure on Israel. Every step in the direction of making lasting peace a regional and international priority deserves to be received gratefully and with hope. 

Any analysis of the political situation in Gaza today has to acknowledge some hard realities: Significant questions of how and when international aid will flow to the desperate civilian population of Gaza should remain at the forefront of every diplomatic exchange or policy decision. The starvation and continued ghettoization of civilian populations cannot be accepted as a negotiating ploy or as an on-the-ground reality—nor can the world at large ignore the desperate situation of many residents of Gaza in the immediate moment.

What is needed next? To be sure, continued American pressure and insistence on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, in concert with Arab allies, on the leaders of Hamas not to reignite the war with continued bombings or other violations of the new accord. Similar pressure will also be required to move forward with a credible day-after plan for the governance and rebuilding of Gaza. Especially given the opposition of Mr. Netanyahu’s current governing coalition to any two-state solution, it will be necessary for Mr. Trump to continue to twist arms to maintain momentum toward a lasting peace. 

While Mr. Trump’s unpredictable style was an asset in breaking the stalemate to get to this cease-fire, it could prove a detriment for the longer road ahead. Consistent messaging from the United States and the United Nations will be important to give all actors confidence that their efforts will not be undermined or laid to waste by fickle changes in policy or an expectation that foreign leaders—Mr. Trump, in particular—will not change their minds from day to day. 

We share the hope of Pope Leo, who prayed on Oct. 12 that all participants in this process “courageously continue along the path mapped out, towards a just, lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.” Above all, let us join with the rest of the world in praying for an end to this decades-long conflict—or, at least, a beginning of the end.