As the sun sets on the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza finally sleeps in silence. Mothers and fathers hold what’s left of their babies, listening to whispers of “Alhamdulillah” ring in the distance. The sky may be permanently stained with smoke from detonated bombs, but at least it’s over. Fifteen months later, the nightmare has ended. There’s not much left. A few buildings bloom amongst the rubble, but even they are tainted with the blood of mutilated children. At least now, there’s some hope of a future for Palestine. On a random day in January, tears of exhaustion and relief filled eyes across the globe as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced. Who is to thank for bringing about an end to the violence?
The deal was arranged in three phases, with both sides agreeing to release their hostages over the next few weeks. Behind this highly idealistic plan stands a man with more wealth and power than entire nations. This so-called “savior” is our very own 47th President of the United States: Donald J. Trump. Well, not exactly.
For context, ceasefire deals had been on the table since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. In May 2024, former President Joe Biden outlined a formal proposal for a three-phase ceasefire deal much like the one that just passed. The United Nations Security Council even passed a resolution supporting this ceasefire plan. Why didn’t this deal go through? First of all, a number of events halted these negotiations, including the assassination of two key leaders of Hamas and Qatar’s decision to suspend their negotiation efforts. However, it wasn’t until December of 2024 that these plans picked up traction. Though there could be a number of reasons for this, a major underlying force that seemed to accelerate the pace at which the current deal came to fruition is Trump’s X account.
When you break down the deal proposed by Biden and the one that just got passed, the differences are almost negligible. Both plans have three phases. Both plans rely on the exchange of hostages and a long-term permanent ceasefire. The key distinction is the face behind the deal. What made Trump different?
For starters, Trump, even though incredibly unlikable, is still acclaimed by many world leaders for his “iron fist” and ability to “get things done.” Before taking office, Trump issued a warning to Hamas threatening “all hell to pay” if hostages held in Gaza were not released by the time he returned to the White House. A couple of hours later, he posted, “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied history of America.” These claims were more concrete and direct than anything put forth during the Biden administration, and the world noticed. Israel, for one, saw this opportunity to strike a favorable deal for them given Trump’s staunch support. Regional mediators even felt the pressure as Qatar and Egypt sought to expedite talks, fearing that Trump’s unpredictability could destabilize the region further.
Was this Trump’s doing? In part, yes. However, crediting him as the architect would be to ignore the framework laid out by the Biden administration and all the behind-the-scenes negotiations that went down prior to his involvement. After all, let’s not forget that Trump does not actually care about Palestine. He cares about himself, his image and his money.
This selfishness is incredibly evident by Trump’s agenda to displace all 2.3 million residents of Gaza to Jordan and Egypt and take the territory under U.S. control once the ceasefire kicks in. He claimed that they would be “better off” and that “they can be happy and … not be knifed to death,” not mentioning who exactly is doing the knifing. These claims have greatly unstabilized the already-fragile ceasefire deal put in place, causing Hamas to delay the release of hostages. Hamas can be seen as justified to some extent in that these annexation plans could only happen when all of the deal’s terms have been met. Thus, complying with the original plan and releasing the hostages on schedule would mean helping Israel and the U.S. take Gaza for themselves. Though these plans are highly speculative and have a small likelihood of happening, the fact that Trump keeps talking about them is concerning.
These “concepts of a plan” that Trump has set forth are a dangerous demonstration of his aggressive Middle Eastern diplomacy. His strategy is designed to advance the Western agenda without any consideration of the civilians who would suffer as a result. With the Trump administration dismantling the United States Agency for International Development and cutting foreign aid to countries in crises, they’ve made it clear that they don’t care about Palestinians or anyone who can’t offer them economic or political gain. This apathy for others should come as no surprise, given Trump’s history of breaking federal law and his blatant disrespect for women and minority groups. This, coupled with the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, serving as his right-hand man, creates an administration designed to ignore those in need.
As Gaza tries to rebuild from the rubble, the world is left to reckon with the reality that this ceasefire, fragile as it is, was not born out of compassion but out of power plays and political posturing. Trump’s involvement may have sped up the process, but his actions since have only threatened the peace that he claims to have brokered. If this war has shown us anything, it is that real peace will never come from the hands of men like Trump. It will only come when the world values Palestinian lives as much as any other.