On Oct. 9, 2025, President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had both signed off on the first phase of his 20-point Gaza Peace Plan.
After two years of war, there is hope for a sustainable pause in the fighting in the Middle East. This hope for peace is greatly reinforced by the return of all living Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israel was committed to fighting until they recovered all of the hostages. The plan has many parts, and nobody knows if the parties involved can maintain the peace due to the deep mistrust between Israel and Hamas. The plan is full of ambitious goals without the parties agreeing on how they will be achieved. Here is a guide to the key takeaways in the 20-point Gaza Peace Plan.
Key Takeaway #1: The plan states that “Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.” (Full text of Trump’s 20-point plan, Point 1). This may be one of the most challenging parts of the Gaza Peace Plan, if Hamas remains in power in Gaza. As the Hamas Charter states; “There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad,” which is a holy war fought by Muslims to defend Islam (The Oxford Dictionary). While Hamas agreed to the Gaza Peace Plan under tremendous pressure, they continue to refuse to recognize the State of Israel and renounce their militant strategies.
Key Takeaway #2: Both sides agreed to the Gaza Peace Plan and the ceasefire on the promise that all hostages, living and dead would be released (Point 3) in exchange for 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans detained after Oct. 7, 2023 (Point 5). When this article was published, all 20 of the live hostages had returned home, however, the remains of only 22 out of 28 dead hostages had been returned. The delay of returning the bodies was a direct violation of the agreement shortly after it was signed. Both parties have also violated the agreement by exchanging fire, which demonstrates how fragile the Gaza Peace Plan is.
Key Takeaway #3: The Gaza Peace Plan affirms that “no one will be forced to leave Gaza,” and seeks to “encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza (Point 12).” Hamas members who wish to leave Gaza will be provided “safe passage” out of Gaza (Point 6). Hamas members who wish to stay will be given amnesty (legal protection from prosecution) if they “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons (Point 6).” However, despite this agreed-to provision in the Peace Plan, Hamas has publicly stated that disarmament by Hamas is “out of the question” and “non-negotiable” according to CBS News.
Key Takeaway #4: After two years of fighting between Hamas and Israel, Gaza will require extensive rebuilding. The Peace Plan calls for the rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage) and hospitals (Point 7). However, the parties have not agreed on any significant details regarding reconstruction plans. BBC News said that planning, design, timelines, funding, and oversight, remain open questions.
Key Takeaway #5: The Peace Plan calls for a temporary governing authority over Gaza, called the “Board of Peace (Point 9).” This Board of Peace, which will be composed of international leaders, will supervise a transitional administration of apolitical Palestinians in charge of running day-to-day activities in Gaza. Members of the Board of Peace have not yet been established other than Donald Trump and the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Key Takeaway #6: Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza (Point 16). “… the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the International Stabilisation Force (ISF).” The U.S. has proposed a resolution for vote by the UN Security Council to authorize a temporary ISF in Gaza. If approved, the resolution would establish a multinational force in Gaza for a two year term. According to Axios, countries including Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Turkey have shown willingness to contribute troops.
Key Takeaway #7: Gaza will be demilitarized, a process that will include international monitors and support from regional partners (Point 13). Multiple Muslim and Arab nations have expressed support for the Peace Plan, including Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, which were involved in the negotiations and signed the document directly. Their connection to the Palestinian people is cited by experts as critical to the plan’s legitimacy in establishing sustainable peace.
Key Takeaway #8: While the plan recognises that statehood is the aspiration of the Palestinian people, it also recognises that only when these many conditions are met may the gate possibly open for statehood (Point 19).
On one hand, nobody knows how all of this can happen, because so much of it has never been done before. On the other hand, nobody ever thought that so many parties in the Middle East would want to come together with this vision of a Middle East that is peaceful and modernizing.
