Why Gaza's future remains unclear despite the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement

People check the rubble of buildings hit in Israeli strikes the previous night in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on January 16, 2025, following a truce announcement amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Despite the announcement that Israel and Hamas had reached a ceasefire and hostage-for-prisoner exchange agreement on Wednesday, the question of who is going to govern Gaza after the war's end remains unresolved. Both Israel and the US, alongside the Palestinian Authority, reject any future governance involving Hamas, which, despite being weakened, has not been eradicated by Israeli military operations.

While negotiators in Doha appeared on Wednesday night to have agreed on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and a hostage-for-prisoner exchange, the issue of Gaza’s post-conflict governance remains unaddressed by the three-phase plan. The question's absence from the deal, which still has to be approved by Israel's cabinet, risks feeding new tensions despite the tentative truce that looks likely to take effect on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, continues to reject any prospect of Hamas returning to power in Gaza.

After winning the 2006 legislative elections, Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, ousting the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah and President Mahmoud Abbas.


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