5 crucial questions on the Gaza ceasefire

What did Trump promise Netanyahu? Is Hamas really staying? Is peace really coming? What about the West Bank? And more.

Israel and Hamas’ new ceasefire deal promises to bring much-needed relief to the region after 15 months of brutal conflict. But a series of uncertainties continues to loom large. Pivotal questions remain unanswered, and their resolution will determine whether this ceasefire is a genuine step towards peace or merely a temporary reprieve. Here are five of the most urgent.

1) Will Israel truly end the war in exchange for hostages?

The first phase of the deal will involve the release of 33 hostages, and a cessation of fighting in Gaza, alongside a partial pullback of the IDF. But what happens afterward remains somewhat unclear, as mediators have deployed the time-tested strategy of constructive ambiguity.

How? In that initial six-week stage, negotiators have agreed to, effectively, undertake further negotiations to settle the terms of the second and third stages, including the release of all remaining hostages, living and dead.

This plan is predicated on the expectation that,once all the hostages are released, the war will be over. But will Israel genuinely abide by this? To do so would contradict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated assurances, since the onset of war, that Hamas will not remain in power in Gaza.

Given the current lack of clarity about the deal’s final steps, there is a real possibility either side might back out under the guise of unresolved terms.

2) Can Israel’s government survive if the far right rebels?