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The Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has reportedly expressed readiness to cede control of the Gaza Strip and hand it over to the Palestinian Authority (PA), headed by Mahmoud Abbas.

Now comes the even harder part. On Wednesday, negotiators from Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages taken by the terrorist group during its October 7, 2023 attack.

Fifteen months on, thousands lie dead and many more are injured. While Gaza has been reduced to rubble, Hamas still exerts control, hostages remain captive, and a ceasefire is hanging by a thread. Wars are a messy business, yet both sides claim to have won this one.

This past weekend, as Hamas paraded a trio of emaciated Israeli hostages who were about to be freed following more than a year of captivity in the Gaza Strip, the militant group seized the chance to direct a personal gibe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Both Israelis and Palestinians are wondering whether Trump’s extreme pronouncements are a bluff, a shock tactic or a serious proposal.

In the hours leading up to President Donald Trump’s prime-time press conference Tuesday, his team knew what was coming. He had been discussing an idea for months — a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip — with advisers, some of whom saw it as a negotiating ploy to give Israeli leaders more leverage over Hamas as they try to turn a fragile cease-fire into a lasting peace.

A small U.S. security firm is hiring nearly 100 U.S. special forces veterans to help run a checkpoint in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, according to a company spokesperson and a recruitment email seen by Reuters, introducing armed American contractors into the heart of one of the world's most violent conflict zones.

A ceasefire has finally been agreed between Israel and Hamas.