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After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threw his support behind the US peace plan for Gaza, the question now is whether Hamas will agree. Hamas faces a bitter tradeoff—the proposal demands that the militant group effectively surrender in return for uncertain gains. But if it rejects the deal, the US could give Israel an even freer hand to continue its punishing campaign in the already devastated territory.

Under the proposal, the militant group would have to disarm in return for an end to fighting, humanitarian aid for Palestinians, and the promise of reconstruction in Gaza—all desperately hoped for by its population.

But the proposal has only a vague promise that some day, perhaps, Palestinian statehood might be possible. For the foreseeable future, Gaza and its more than 2 million Palestinians would be put under international control. An international security force would move in, and a “Board of Peace” headed by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to oversee Gaza’s administration and reconstruction. The territory would remain surrounded by Israeli troops.

Trump and Netanyahu said they agreed on the plan Monday after talks at the White House.

The proposal includes one provision that Netanyahu and his hard-line government most strongly oppose: It says the Palestinian Authority will eventually govern Gaza. But Netanyahu is likely betting that will never come to pass. Israel also rejects any Palestinian state. The White House issued the text on Monday of its 20-point proposal. Here is what to know.

The ceasefire

The plan calls for all hostilities to immediately end. Within 72 hours, Hamas would release all hostages it still holds, living or dead. The militants still hold 48 hostages—20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive.

In return, Israel would free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in its prisons as well as 1,700 people detained from Gaza since the war began, including all women and children. Israel would also hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for each body of a hostage handed over.

Troop withdrawal

The plan calls for an Israeli troop withdrawal. But it would only take place after Hamas disarms and as the international security force deploys to fill in areas that Israeli forces leave. Israel would also maintain a “security perimeter presence”–a vague phrasing that could mean it would keep a buffer zone inside Gaza.

Those terms could bring pushback from Hamas, which has said it will not release all its hostages unless it receives a “clear declaration” the war will end and Israel will leave Gaza completely.

The fate of Hamas and postwar Gaza

Hamas would have no part in administering Gaza, and all its military infrastructure—including tunnels—would be dismantled. Members who pledge to live peacefully would be granted amnesty, and those who wish to leave Gaza would be allowed to.

The international security force would ensure Hamas’ disarmament and keep order. It would also train Palestinian police to take over law enforcement. Mediator Egypt has said it is training thousands of Palestinian police to deploy to Gaza.

Meanwhile, humanitarian aid would be allowed to flow into Gaza in large amounts and would be run by “neutral international bodies,” including the UN and the Red Crescent. It is unclear whether the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, a controversial alternative food distribution system backed by Israel and the US, would continue to operate.

The plan also specifies that Palestinians will not be expelled from Gaza, and that there will be an international effort to rebuild the territory for Palestinians.

In normal cases, that might not need spelling out. But Palestinians have feared mass expulsion after both Trump and the Israeli government spoke of pushing out Gaza’s population–ostensibly in a “voluntary” manner–and rebuilding the strip as a sort of international real estate venture.

The interim administration of Palestinian technocrats would run day-to-day affairs in Gaza. But it would be overseen by the “Board of Peace.” The board would also supervise funding of reconstruction, a role that could give it enormous power over governing Gaza since that is the biggest task facing the territory, almost completely destroyed by Israel’s campaign.

The Palestinian Authority and statehood

During this interim administration, the Palestinian Authority would undergo reforms so it can eventually take over governing Gaza.

The plan has only a slight nod to the issue of statehood. It says that if the Palestinian Authority reforms sufficiently and Gaza redevelopment advances, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

The response so far

Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief shared the 20-point plan Monday evening with Hamas negotiators. The Hamas negotiators said they would review it in good faith and provide a response. Hamas has so far rejected disarmament, saying it has a right to resist until Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands ends.

Arab countries appear to back the outline. The governments of Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement applauding Trump’s proposal.​​​​​​​ Netanyahu could face resistance from within his own ultra-nationalist coalition allies.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is part of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, published a list of his “red lines” on X on Monday. Top among them, he wrote, any deal ,must not allow involvement of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza or allow a Palestinian state. Smotrich is one of the more vocal members of the right-wing bloc of Netanyahu’s coalition who have previously threatened to leave the government if Netanyahu halts the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu may see a loophole. The proposal makes PA involvement in Gaza conditional on it completing internal reforms, which it pledged to do, saying it welcomed Trump’s plan to end the war.​​​​​​​ But in his comments alongside Trump on Monday, Netanyahu expressed his belief it will never successfully do so.

AP

President Donald Trump was hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for critical talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza and developing a U.S. plan on post-war governance in the war-battered Palestinian territory. The White House talks come at a tenuous moment. Israel is increasingly isolated, losing support from many countries that were long its steadfast allies. At home, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears more fragile than ever. And the White House is showing signs of impatience.

The question now is whether Trump, who has offered steadfast backing to Netanyahu throughout the war, will change his tone and turn up the pressure on Israel to wind down the conflict. As he welcomed Netanyahu to the White House, Trump responded affirmatively when asked by reporters whether he was confident a deal would be soon reached to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

“I am. I’m very confident,” Trump said. 

Earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt urged both sides to finalize an agreement to bring an end to the nearly two-year old war in Gaza. “Ultimately the president knows when you get to a good deal, both sides are going to leave a little bit unhappy,” Leavitt told reporters. “But we need this conflict to end.”

Trump and Netanyahu are first holding talks with aides in the Oval Office. A joint press conference is expected later.

The uncertainty surrounding the meeting casts it as “one of the most critical” in the yearslong relationship between the two leaders, said professor Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israeli relations at Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities. “Netanyahu might have to choose between Trump and his coalition members,” a number of whom want the war to continue, Gilboa said. A move by Netanyahu to end the war would leave him on shaky political ground at home a year before elections.

AP

Days after his defiant speech at the United Nations rejecting demands to end the war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to confer with his most important supporter.

But Monday’s meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington comes at a tenuous moment. Israel is increasingly isolated, losing support from many countries that were long its steadfast allies. At home, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears more fragile than ever. And the White House is showing signs of impatience.

The question now is whether Trump, who has offered steadfast backing to Netanyahu throughout the war, will change his tone and turn up the pressure on Israel to wind down the conflict.

Hours before Netanyahu was set to meet Trump for talks, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was urging both sides to finalize an agreement to bring an end to the nearly two-year old war in Gaza.

“Ultimately the president knows when you get to a good deal, both sides are going to leave a little bit unhappy,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Monday morning. “But we need this conflict to end.”

In a post Sunday on social media, the Republican president said: “We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!”

Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office, and a joint press conference is expected later.

The uncertainty surrounding the meeting casts it as “one of the most critical” in the yearslong relationship between the two leaders, said professor Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US-Israeli relations at Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities.

“Netanyahu might have to choose between Trump and his coalition members,” a number of whom want the war to continue, Gilboa said. A move by Netanyahu to end the war would leave him on shaky political ground at home a year before elections.

Oded Ailam, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, agreed Trump is likely to demand a permanent ceasefire, leaving Netanyahu with few options. Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas is destroyed.

If Trump puts the pressure on, the Israeli leader would probably seek to include “red lines” in any deal, Ailam said. Netanyahu, Ailam says, might demand that Hamas be dismantled. Netanyahu might also set a condition that if the militant group resumes fighting or returns to power, the Israeli military would have the right to operate freely in Gaza, he said.

Trump joined forces with Netanyahu during Israel’s brief war with Iran in June, ordering US stealth bombers to strike three nuclear sites, and he’s supported the Israeli leader during his corruption trial, describing the case as a “witch hunt.”

But the relationship has become more tense lately. Trump was frustrated by Israel’s failed strike this month on Hamas officials in Qatar, a US ally in the region that had been hosting negotiations to end the war in Gaza.

Recent comments have hinted at growing impatience from Washington. Last week, Trump vowed to prevent Israel from annexing the West Bank—an idea promoted by some of Netanyahu’s hard-line governing partners. The international community opposes annexation, saying it would destroy hopes for a two-state solution.

Michael Doran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, dismissed the idea Trump’s comments about the West Bank were a sign of friction. He said the remarks allowed Netanyahu to resist pressure from right-wing members of his government.

“That was a clever move by Trump,” Doran said. “It simultaneously showed responsiveness to Arab and Muslim allies while actually helping out Netanyahu.”

On Friday, Trump raised expectations for the meeting with Netanyahu, telling reporters the US was “very close to a deal on Gaza.”

AP

Trump has made similar pronouncements in the past with nothing to show for it.

The United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran early Sunday over its nuclear program, further squeezing the Islamic Republic as its people increasingly find themselves priced out of the food they need to survive and worried about their futures.

The sanctions will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran, and penalize any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program, among other measures. It came via a mechanism known as “snapback,” included in Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and comes as Iran’s economy already is reeling.

Iran’s rial currency sits at a record low, increasing pressure on food prices and making daily life that much more challenging. That includes meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table.

Meanwhile, people worry about a new round of fighting between Iran and Israel—as well as potentially the United States—as missile sites struck during the 12-day war in June now appear to be being rebuilt.

Activists fear a rising wave of repression within the Islamic Republic, which already has reportedly executed more people this year than over the past three decades.

Sina, the father of a 12-year-old boy who spoke on condition that only his first name be used for fear of repercussions, said the country has never faced such a challenging time, even during the deprivations of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and the decades of sanctions that came later.

“For as long as I can remember, we’ve been struggling with economic hardship, and every year it’s worse than the last,” Sina told The Associated Press. “For my generation, it’s always either too late or too early — our dreams are slipping away.”

AP