The ceasefire in Gaza is technically alive. Major military operations have paused. The last hostages held by Hamas have been freed. Aid deliveries have increased. By those measures, the agreement that Trump’s Board of Peace is meant to support has produced results — results that the board’s inaugural meeting Thursday was designed to build upon.
But the ceasefire is holding only just. Near-daily Israeli strikes continue, killing Palestinians including civilians. Israel says these strikes target militants who threaten or attack its forces — a justification that Arab and Muslim board members reject as incompatible with the ceasefire’s spirit. Hamas has not disarmed. No international forces are deployed. The political transition has not begun.
The ceasefire agreement envisioned a sequence of events: Hamas disarms, Israeli forces withdraw, international forces deploy, a transitional Palestinian committee takes over governance, and reconstruction begins. That sequence has not advanced. The deal left some questions unanswered and set no firm timelines, creating space for both sides to maneuver while making progress elusive.
A lasting resolution to the two-year war ignited by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack into Israel remains a distant prospect. The deal’s framework is ambitious — but its implementation depends on a level of trust and compliance between parties that has not materialized. Each unfulfilled obligation by one side gives the other justification to delay its own.
Trump’s board must find a way to accelerate implementation without losing the coalition that makes the ceasefire viable. Arab members pressing for Israeli restraint and Israeli members pressing for Hamas disarmament must somehow be aligned on a common timeline. Thursday’s meeting is the first test of whether the board can play that mediating role effectively.
Trump’s Board of Peace: The Ceasefire Is Holding — But Only Just
