‘Viable pathway to long-term peace’: Amid tariff chill, PM Modi welcomes Trump’s Gaza peace plan

The war in Gaza has left more than 66,000 people dead, after the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas killed 1,200 people and led to 250 people being taken hostage.

The White House released a 20-point document that called for an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament and a transitional government led by an international body.

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, the plan states, 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.

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.

Hamas would have no part in administering Gaza, and all its military infrastructure—including tunnels—would be dismantled, as per the plan. 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.

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 proposal says, “Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee,” though it does not name any Palestinian individual or group by name as being involved in the transition.

The panel would be supervised by a new international transitional body called the ‘Board of Peace’, headed by Trump and including other heads of state and members, including former UK PM Tony Blair.

The committee would be responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities in Gaza and would be made up of “qualified Palestinians and international experts”, who were not identified. Hamas would have no role in Gaza’s governance.

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