Has a permanent ceasefire in Gaza finally been reached?

On 8 October, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to take action to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip, according to a series of steps outlined in the ‘Implementation Steps’. After hostilities began following October 7, this announcement culminated several months of negotiation and two previously attempted ceasefires, in November 2023 and January 2025.

The key initial ‘Implementation Steps’ outlined in Trump’s proposal were the immediate cease of all military operations in the Gaza Strip, the release of the 48 remaining hostages from the October 7 attack within 72 hours, both living and deceased, the withdrawal of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to agreed upon points, and, crucially, the removal of impediments on humanitarian aid and relief to Gaza. Israel also agreed to return hundreds of Palestinian hostages imprisoned  in Israel in exchange for Israeli hostages.

By 10 October, a ceasefire agreement had been ratified and was due to become active immediately. Thousands celebrated in Gaza and Tel Aviv, cheering at the prospect of the end of the bloodshed and the return of hostages to their families. Finally, on 13 October, there was a peace summit held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where the ‘Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity’ was signed by the mediator states to the deal: the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. But notably, neither Palestinian, nor Israeli officials were signatories to the deal in person.

Representatives of Hamas have called on the US and the other guarantor states, as well as the United Nations (UN), to hold Israel accountable to fully ceasing military operations in Gaza. Hamas is the governing party of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian militant group, which is considered a terrorist organisation by several countries, including the UK. On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, during which approximately 1200 people were killed, and 251 people taken hostage.  

Following the 7 October attack, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israel would not stop its assault on the Gaza Strip until Hamas was ‘completely destroyed’, a sentiment he has repeatedly expressed over the last year. However, since the breakdown of the January 2025 ceasefire, there has been mounting international pressure on Israel and Hamas to come to an agreement. 

Since this latest episode of violence began, the Hamas-run Health Ministry has reported that over 68,000 Palestinian people, including 20,000 children have been killed, and thousands more have been left injured, homeless, displaced, and starving. The enormous scale of violence has led several national and international bodies, including the UN, around the world to argue that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in its attack on the Gaza Strip. 

In December 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice claiming that Israel was committing genocide in its attack on Gaza. Since then, 14 other countries have since filed a “declaration of intervention” to participate in the trial and support South Africa. This case is yet ongoing, as the ICJ has given Israel an extension to submit more evidence in response to South Africa’s argument. 

Furthermore, in November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu, the Israeli former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and a former Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel has said was killed in an air strike in Gaza earlier that year. 

Netanyahu and Gallant were charged as co-perpetrators of “war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”. Deif was also charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including “murder; extermination; torture, and rape and other forms of sexual violence;”. 

 The UN also released  a report on 16 September 2025 confirming that the statements and actions committed by the Israeli military and civilian authorities indicated that the continuous assault on Gaza’s population intended to ‘destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip’.’ It found Israel in violation of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. Around the world, many human rights organisations and groups, including Amnesty International and Oxfam International, have also declared that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. 

47.3% of Gaza’s population are under 18, making it one of the youngest populations in the world; the conflict has left them facing malnutrition, trauma, significantly disrupted education, and in many cases, life-changing injuries. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded that a genocide was taking place, highlighted that the Israeli military operations in Gaza were “directly targeting children” as part of a systematic attack on the Palestinian people. 

However, other groups have not stopped at just protests and reports. In the UK, the activist group ‘Palestine Action’ was added to the list of organisations proscribed under the 2000 UK Terrorism Act. Since the group’s formation on 30 July 2020, it has launched attacks on key defence firms across the UK, such as Thales in Glasgow, and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol. Both firms have direct or indirect connections to the Israeli military. 

In June 2025, The Oxford Blue reported on the journey of the Madleen Gaza flotilla. It set sail towards Gaza to make a symbolic effort to deliver aid to citizens in Gaza, and more significantly, break the Israeli blockade against humanitarian aid which had been in place for several weeks at this point. The Madleen was detained by the IDF in international waters on 9 June. 

However, this was not the last attempt to break the blockade by sea and in early August 2025, the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail. The Flotilla was made up of 44 civilian boats carrying approximately 500 activists with the same goal of breaking Israel’s blockade. Among those on board were representatives from over 44 different countries. As was expected, all 44 boats of the flotilla were detained in international waters by the IDF, and the activists were taken into Israeli prisons. 

Will this ceasefire last?

On 13 October, Hamas released the 20 living hostages from the 7 October attack back to their families, while over 65,000 people gathered in ‘hostages square’ in Tel Aviv to watch the handover. After two years of constant Israeli bombardments in Gaza, of the 251 people who were abducted, 186 have returned to Israel alive.

While all 20 living hostages were released within the 72 hours specified by the ceasefire agreement that both Hamas and Israel signed, Hamas has reported difficulties with locating the bodies of the 28 deceased hostages, which were also due to be released. 

Hamas spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, claimed to Sky News that the lack of specialised equipment that is needed to excavate the rubble, which resulted from the Israeli assault on Gaza, is making it extremely difficult to locate the bodies. US Vice President JD Vance, upon his arrival in Israel on 21 October, stated “some of the hostages, nobody even knows where they are”. He has advocated for Israel to be patient with Hamas on the issue. 

The Israeli government, and many Israeli citizens, have expressed deep frustration over the delay in receiving the bodies. Much of this stems from the Jewish practice of burying their dead as soon as possible, preferably within twenty-four hours. As a consequence, the Israeli government has chosen to block the Rafah crossing in order to stop humanitarian aid trucks from entering Gaza. 

Since then, more challenges have arisen. On 18 October, the IDF killed 11 members of the Abu Shaaban family, including 7 children, when soldiers fired a tank shell at a civilian vehicle.  The family were travelling to their home when they had accidentally crossed the ‘yellow line’. The ‘yellow line‘ refers to a sparsely demarcated line representing the agreed fallback point of the IDF. 

The killing of the 11 members of the Abu Shaaban family has raised many concerns. With Israel cutting off the internet, it is impossible for  Palestinians to be aware of the limits of the ‘yellow line’, subjecting civilians to attacks. Secondly, the lack of clear signage means that civilians such as the Abu Shaaban family face the possibility of entering Israeli territory  entirely by accident and being fatally punished. 

On 19 October, Israel broke the ceasefire agreement by launching air strikes on southern Gaza. Israel reported that “terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire” had violated the ceasefire and fired an anti-tank missile towards Israeli troops in Rafah. Israel has claimed it is now upholding the terms of the ceasefire once more; however, the Government Media Office in Gaza has claimed that Israel has, in fact, violated the terms of the ceasefire 80 times. Since the implementation of the ceasefire, at least 97 Palestinian civilians have been killed.

This article has reported on the events since the ceasefire up until Wednesday 24 October, therefore it is likely that there may have been an update or changes regarding some of the events accounted for.

The future of the ceasefire is uncertain. It is clear that President Trump intends on ensuring that the conflict does not escalate, and wants to have a significant role regarding the future of the Palestinian people and the Gaza Strip. As evidenced by the breakdown of the January 2025 ceasefire which Trump also helped implement, Trump’s involvement may not suffice to maintain the ceasefire. 

The ceasefire has its limitations. It does not end the occupation of Palestine nor end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. This conflict has been taking place since the 1948 Nakba when Israel first began occupying territory and displacing Palestinian civilians from their generational homes in order to establish the Israeli state. Israeli control over Jerusalem is a particularly contentious issue, as the city is a holy site for the Jewish community but also for Muslim and Christian communities.

Additionally, the ‘yellow line’ still leaves roughly 58% of Gaza under Israeli occupation and  Israel is still exerting control over the transport routes in and out of Gaza, allowing it to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

Significantly, Marwan Barghouti, a prominent figure in Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, will not be released by Israel along with the other Palestinian hostages who are to be released from Israeli prisons as part of the ceasefire agreement. There are many who view Barghouti as a potential future leader of an independent Palestine. His continued arrest has led many to ask: what will happen now? 

Speculation suggests that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair will initially head up the “Board of Peace” that will govern Gaza through this transition period. Though, this raises questions about the democratic process and the right for Palestinian self-determination. Blair has been heavily criticised since leaving office for his large role in the unsuccessful war in Iraq, which killed over 1 million civilians. In this light, many are questioning whether he would be the best candidate. 

Palestinian statehood has been a long-contested topic, but the continued and devastating conflict, especially with the more recent episode of Israeli violence over  the last two years, demonstrates the crucial need to come to a resolution on this matter. 

While the world waits to see whether this ceasefire will last, it is important that the terms of the ceasefire and any consequent agreements are continually negotiated and developed to preserve life and reach a long-term peace for all people in the region.