FEBRUARY 2026 : AS the Gaza ceasfire creaks and humanitarian aid trickles in, the region is awash with fear, mistrust, and hand-wringing. US, Israeli, European and Arab heads continue to explore future reconstruction scenarios and the role of peace keeping forces but the divisions in opinion are enormous given the intransigence of both Israel (driven by right wing extremist politics and settler rage) and Hamas (which continues to envision a role for itself in any future structure). Can the Gaza International Stabilisation Force hold things together while the politics plays out?
On 10 February 2026 Katrin Bennhold wrote in the New York Times that "Persuading Hamas to give up its weapons is the linchpin of everything in the president’s plan." She aded, "On the face of it, Gaza is edging closer toward peace. A crucial border crossing into Egypt reopened last week. Reconstruction plans are being circulated. A committee of Palestinian technocrats is on standby to take over from Hamas...But durable peace seems a distant prospect. Since the October cease-fire, Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians..."
The million dollar question, she poses, is, "Will Hamas have to give up all its weapons? Or will it be allowed to keep some?" This remains a sticky and unresolved issue as other elements take shape, including Triump's proposed Board of Peace that appears to be at odds with the UN.
In late November 2026 a group of UN experts wrote: "“Since the ceasefire was announced on 11 October, Israel has reportedly committed at least 393 violations, killing 339 Palestinians, including more than 70 children, and injuring over 871 others,” the experts said. “The 28 October airstrikes marked the deadliest single night since the ceasefire began, with at least 104 Palestinians killed.” Many more killings have taken place since then.
The Guardian says, "The ceasefire brought relief, but the world must not look away now." Its 6 November editorial points out: "Thousands of bodies are still believed to be trapped beneath the ruins – debris which, it is estimated, would take a fleet of more than a hundred lorries seven years to shift. Aid is flowing again, but remains wholly inadequate, with NGOs warning that Israel’s new registration system is obstructing delivery."
It continues: "The ceasefire agreement was reached by deferring all the difficult questions. But the US is keen to press ahead with a UN security council resolution mandating the establishment of an international stabilisation force. That will require agreement on multiple difficult issues: the force’s mandate and composition – Israel has rejected a role for Turkish troops – and its relationship with a Palestinian civil police force; US military leadership; details of Israeli military withdrawal, and of what happens to Hamas weapons and fighters."
Has the can been merely kicked down the road? And is there any real future for Gaza and the Palestine people?
BBC presenter Tim Whewell talked to Ayish, a survivor, who said, simply: "I'm 89 and I saw my homeland rebuilt before - but now I don't believe Gaza has a future." Whewell writes, "The best moment of his life, he says, was when he married his wife Khadija. Together they had 18 children. That, according to a newspaper article that once featured him, is a record – the largest number of children from the same mother and father of any Palestinian family."
Al Jazeera reported 18 November 2025, "The UN Security Council has adopted a US resolution detailing the mandate for the Gaza International Stabilisation Force outlined in Trump’s ceasefire." It adds: "A Hamas spokesman has told Al Jazeera that the group rejects the presence of foreign military personnel in Gaza, saying it would be exchanging Israeli occupation for 'foreign guardianship' ”. The resolution outlines this peace keeping force "will work with Israel and Egypt along with newly trained Palestinian police to secure border areas, demilitarise Gaza and protect civilians and humanitarian operations."
According to the Khaleej Times, "Beside the UAE, the US, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey have jointly supported the plan after consultation and in cooperation with Council members and partners in the region." Meanwhile The Times of Israel reports that, "Hamas has begun amassing advanced weapons and stockpiling them abroad in hopes of smuggling them into Gaza in the future, according to a report Sunday, amid growing talk that the United States may forgo demanding the terror group’s disarmament."
– Asian Conversations
