In the wake of Donald Trump’s extraordinary outburst of profanity outside the White House, a fragile US-brokered truce between Israel and Iran appears to be tentatively holding.
In recent days, this has been accompanied by a flurry of messaging from Israel that this cessation of hostilities is just the start.
Benjamin Netanyahu, in a brief but emphatic video on Thursday, insisted that after Israel achieved “a great victory” over its staunchest foe, a new opportunity had opened up for a “dramatic expansion of peace agreements”.
“There is a window of opportunity here that must not be wasted. We must not waste even a single day,” he said with emphasis.
For the two million Palestinians in Gaza facing starvation and slaughter, the hope is that this new climate of negotiations might herald the end of 20 months of Israel’s unprecedented bombardment, which has reduced the 25-mile-long strip to ashen rubble and claimed over 56,000 lives, according to local officials.
Senior Palestinian health workers told The Independent that without a ceasefire and the immediate delivery of desperately needed aid, they were “scared we are teetering on the very edge”.
“We are so tired—we can’t keep going,” said Yosef Abureesh, Gaza’s deputy health minister, outlining how half of the essential drugs list is missing and that none of the 38 hospitals in Gaza are fully functioning.
“Don’t rely on our resilience. We are no longer able to continue as health staff,” he added.
Over the weekend, Netanyahu proclaimed a “tectonic shift” in the Middle East with Iran weakened, claiming it could herald many more regional states signing the Abraham Accords and thereby recognising and normalising relations with Israel.
“We have broken the axis,” he told reporters triumphantly. “This is a huge change, and Israel’s status is rising—not just in the Middle East but across the world.”
Netanyahu’s comments on Thursday, though still animated, were more vague. The entire statement lasted just 28 seconds, during which he referred to a “window of opportunity” alongside “the defeat of Hamas” and “the release of the hostages”.
There are thought to be around 50 Israelis seized by Hamas during its bloody 7 October 2023 assault in southern Israel who remain in Gaza. Of those, only 20 are believed to still be alive. Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure from the families of the captives and the deceased to sign any truce that could bring the hostages home.
According to leaks in Israeli media, the US is also piling on pressure for a rapid peace deal in Gaza that could include broader regional implications .
The left-leaning Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that senior Trump administration officials have urged Israel to send its negotiating team to Cairo next week to advance talks with Hamas.
