Despite Trump’s exclamation, questions remainpublished at 05:50 BST
Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent
When President Trump announced this ceasefire deal, he hailed it, as he often does, in epic terms. This is more than Gaza, he exclaimed; this is peace in the Middle East.
The reality is far less grand.
Ending, for now, this grievous Gaza war, finally bringing Israeli hostages home in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, is a major achievement which brought enormous relief and joy.
The surprising speed in which this deal was done, the way some details are, even now, still being sorted, underlines how President Trump was in a hurry to get it over the line, and be seen to do it.
But there’s still little detail and no decisions on much more difficult issues: Will Hamas ever give up its guns? Will Israel ever end its military occupation?
And what is the political horizon, that vague phrase in President Trump’s 20-point plan which much of the world translates as a Palestinian state – but Israel firmly rejects.
There’s little talk here of peace. At best, it is a calm before yet more storms – unless President Trump, and many others, continue to exert the huge pressure that made this first phase possible.
