I know how upsetting and overwhelming the news from Gaza has been, for many of you. Day after day, for two long years, the same horror repeats itself, and yet some are still indifferent, as if Palestinian lives mean nothing, as if they aren’t even human beings!
What a rotten, sick, dehumanised world it is that some watch genocide unfold in real time and still choose silence! The reports we’re seeing now of people starving, children going without food, aid convoys being blocked are utterly heart breaking.
What’s happening in Gaza isn’t just a crisis, it’s a man-made tragedy, and it’s getting worse by the day. Do people understand the mental toll all this is taking? It’s unbearable, and people have next to no idea that what we’re seeing on our screens, doesn’t begin to describe the reality on the ground.
At least 42 Palestinians, including five aid seekers, have been killed and 190 others injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, The recent invasion of Deir al-Balah has only added to the horror. Families already displaced and traumatised are being forced to flee once again, and the lives of the remaining Israeli hostages are in even greater danger because of this continued escalation.
Gaza City is living through one of its harshest phases, as the Israeli military assault targets its neighbourhoods and drives residents into forced displacement, hundreds of thousands insist on staying, clinging to their city and hope they can foil Israel’s plans to destroy it.
While at same time we are told to cheer when Western governments recognise the State of Palestine and we are urged to stay riveted by the soap operas of the West, the feigned “martyrdoms” of men like Charlie Kirk, while the true martyrs, those without choice, those without cameras, are buried by bulldozers in Gaza.
The number of deaths caused by hunger and malnutrition in Gaza has risen to 453, including 150 children, the Hamas-run Health Ministry has said. Something has to happen to make all this stop. The Israeli Government must end this offensive, open the borders to let aid in, and allow international journalists in to report freely. We need diplomacy now not more bombs. People deserve food, safety, and dignity, no matter who they are or where they live.
Meanwhile Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan to end the war in Gaza has been accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Hamas is yet to issue an official response.
Though Hamas is "leaning toward accepting" the deal, a source told CBS News but its key requirements haven't really changed since it first agreed to a ceasefire in July 2024, it demands Israel withdraw from most of Gaza and agree to end the war.
Remember though that Hamas already accepted a US ceasefire proposal in August but Israel then demanded the group release all the hostages at once and bombed the Hamas negotiators when they met to discuss the amended offer in Doha in early September.
The Trump plan contains elements that run counter to the goals of both Hamas (survival and continued armed struggle from within the Palestinian territories) and Israel (control of Gaza, destruction of Hamas, prevention of the Palestinian Authority taking over, prevention of a Palestinian state).
Israel has outwardly agreed to the plan, while Hamas will face intense pressure from Qatar and Egypt to accept it. Trump has said he will give Hamas three to four days to meet his demands. This plan is not an offer, as Trump has made quite clear. It’s an ultimatum.
Hamas was not given any details on the proposal prior to Trump and Netanyahu unveiling it at the White House, a senior leader told Al Jazeera Mubasher. “Not a single Palestinian has reviewed this plan, and what was recounted … represents a tilt toward the Israeli vision—an approach close to what Netanyahu insisted on and pleaded for—to continue the war and the annihilation. Nothing more, nothing less,” said senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi immediately following the Trump–Netanyahu press conference.
“To negotiate an end to this criminal war in exchange for ending the Palestinian people’s right to their state and their rights to their land, homeland, and holy sites—no Palestinian will accept that.” Mardawi said that Hamas and other Palestinian factions would need to study the proposal, adding that, “the official position must be issued after reading the proposal and then stating our position and making amendments that conform with our right to self-determination.”
The last time Hamas leaders gathered to discuss a U.S. proposal, on September 9, Israel attempted to assassinate its negotiators.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Tuesday that Egypt and Qatar had delivered the plan to Hamas and, along with Turkish officials, would be holding a “consultative meeting.” Al-Ansari added, “We are optimistic that Trump’s plan is comprehensive, and the Hamas delegation is studying it responsibly, and we continue to consult with them.”
While Trump praised his own plan as a landmark opportunity for “eternal peace in the Middle East,” the exclusion of all Palestinians from the process is an extension of decades of Western colonial dominance of decision-making surrounding the future of Palestine.
Far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich has slammed PM Netanyahu for accepting Trump's plan and thus missing "a historic opportunity to break free from the shackles of the Oslo Accords." Netanyahu said that establishing a Palestinian state "is not even written in the agreement."
At the heart of Trump’s plan is a thinly-veiled ultimatum to Palestinians: bend the knee to Israel, renounce the right of armed resistance, and agree to indefinite subjugation by foreign actors.
Here is the full text of the proposal, as provided by the White House:
1. Gaza will be a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours.
2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough. 3. If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.
4. Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.
5. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after 7 October 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.
6. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.
7. Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the 19 January 2025 agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.
8. Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under 19 January 2025 agreement.
9. Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the "Board of Peace," which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of state to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform programme, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump's peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.
10. A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza. Leaders in Middle East and Europe welcome Trump's Gaza peace plan Trump's Gaza plan is a significant step - but faces fundamental obstacles
11. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.
12. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.
13. Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarisation of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration programme all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbours.
14. A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and the factions, comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbours or its people.
15. The United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent munitions from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties. 16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.
17. In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.
18. An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace.
19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform programme is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
20. The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.
Here's my personal response to this so called peace plan. This is not a roadmap to peace, but a ceasefire package favoring Israel. It is colonialism dressed up as diplomacy.
Unlike Oslo or Camp David, it omits borders, Jerusalem, settlements, refugees, and a two-state vision. Palestinians gain no sovereignty or justice, only disarmament and control.
It demands the “de-radicalization” of Palestinians. It insists that all Israeli captives be released within 48 hours, while only some Palestinian detainees would be freed.
It installs a foreign-designed governance system: a temporary “technocratic” committee overseen by a body convened by the U.S. with European and Arab partners . It proposes a foreign “stabilization force” to police Gaza, disarm resistance groups, and secure Israel’s interests . Reconstruction and the economy would be dictated externally, not by Palestinians themselves .
The result is not peace, but the entrenchment of repression with Israeli impunity guaranteed and the Palestinian right to self-determination denied, enforced by the very powers complicit in their dispossession. Hamas says it can't sign up to anything that does not include Palestinian self-determination. Which this, pointedly, doesn't.
The plan simply envisions a U.S run trusteeship for 10 years, turning the Strip into a “Riviera of the Middle East and sadly begins with the “voluntary” relocation of 2M Palestinians. It is genocide packaged as real estate. The plan also kicks Hamas out without giving Palestinians a real say, hands Gaza to foreign overseers, and tells Palestinians to give up their weapons while Israel keeps all its military power. Nothing about Trump's "Peace Plan" guarantees a Palestinian state, and nowhere does it acknowledge Gaza as a Palestinian homeland.
Trump may dream of a Nobel Peace Prize, but that is where it ends. For Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, he offers neither vision nor even the start of a genuine political process, nor does he challenge Netanyahu's outright opposition to Palestinian statehood. In reality, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority alike are being forced to choose between foreign rule or open-ended occupation, without any clear framework.
Meanwhile, Israel gets breathing room, global cover, and a weaker, divided Palestine thus making it easier for Israel to expand settlements and tighten control over the land. This plan is not peaceful in any shape or form, it is aimed at shielding war criminal Netanyahu from international prosecution while attempting to uphold a declining Zionist narrative.
While at the same time seeks to strip Palestinians of integrity, dignity, solidarity, self-determination, and above all, their homeland. It does absolutely nothing to alleviate the pain, heartbreak and misery or in anyway hold Israel accountable for genocide or punish them for killing hundreds of thousands of people, releasing all the thousands of Palestinian hostages and ending the cruel barbaric occupation. A civilized world cannot accept this and must be rejected outright by world leaders.
Trump and Netanyahu call this a peace plan but it's reprehensible and is nothing more than a blueprint for permanent occupation. Whitewashing the oceans of innocent blood Israel has already spilled and encouraging them to "finish the job"
Imagine: Donald Trump crowned head of a “Board of Peace” and Tony Blair, the Iraq war criminal, who should be in The Hague, deciding Gaza’s future. Palestinians are erased from the table, while the U.S. and Israel script their oppression. What the Palestinian people deserve is not another sham, but real peace: justice, freedom, and security. Gaza belongs to the Palestinians. Anything less is unacceptable. Real peace needs a concrete roadmap, not empty pauses.
Stop arming Israel. End the genocide. Free Palestine.
