Introduction
January 19, 2025, was the day the Israeli cease-fire with Hamas sought to end 15 months of destructive war in Gaza that broke out due to a Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. This Gaza ceasefire deal, brokered by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, was aimed at securing the release of both parties’ hostages, increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and establishing a lasting ceasefire.
Nevertheless, the ceasefire broke on March 18, 2025, and negotiations again stagnated in July, casting doubts on its long-term viability. And as over 58,000 lives of Palestinians have been lost and 600,000 displaced, it has become a matter of high stakes.
This article begins by examining the recent crisis in Israel-Hamas, highlighting the mediators, specifics in prisoner exchange, and humanitarian and political consequences of the same. Also, it will answer some of the questions: Is lasting peace possible with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in 2025?
Current State of the Israel vs. Hamas Crisis
The most recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas started on January 19, 2025, after several months of negotiations. Still, it failed in March, and negotiations stalling in July 2025 speak of the tensions between them. This war has been preceded by a conflict in which Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 prisoners; in reprisals, Israel has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, including 29,000 civilians, according to the health ministry of Gaza.
However, there were some gains made in the initial stage of the ceasefire, where Hamas released 33 hostages in exchange for Israel freeing almost 2,000 Palestinian inmates. But the truce meltdown caused by the claimed infringements by Israel, such as airstrikes and an 11- 11-week blockade of aid beginning on March 2, 2025, plays on. Hamas’s delay in releasing hostages further worsened the agreement.
By July 25, 2025, a stalemate in Doha negotiations has dragged on as the parties involved battle over Israeli troop drawdown and permanent cease-fire guarantees, with mediators unable to close the chasms. Many parts of Gaza are still struggling with a humanitarian crisis, and a state of famine has been declared, with 90% of the infrastructure damaged, and it is hard to achieve permanent peace.
Parties Involved in Trying to Mediate Peace
To make this peace deal, the Hamas-Israel negotiations have been based on international mediators who help negotiate and bind agreements. The major participants are stated below:
United States
Firstly, the U.S. has taken a front-seat role, as Presidents Biden and Trump have been pleading for the Gaza ceasefire agreement. The January policy was based on a proposal made by Biden in May 2024, which had been approved by the UN Resolution 2735. On January 15, 2025, Biden said, This agreement will stop the conflict in Gaza and will increase the human aid.
However, there was criticism that the U.S. had abstained in the UN Resolution 2728 that demanded a ceasefire during Ramadan and its haphazard pressuring of Israel. However, negotiations are ongoing, with U.S envoy Steve Witkoff walking out of Doha talks in July 2025 because he did not see a deal on the horizon due to the lack of willingness on the part of Hamas, which made Trump make some comments that are like they really chose the path of death.
Egypt
Also, the Egyptian mediator has been influential in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, as it has a border with Gaza and influence over Hamas. The second round of talks was also held in Cairo in February 2025, where more humanitarian aid and troop withdrawal were advocated. Egypt had given verbal assurances to Hamas that every ceasefire step would be taken, but Israel’s lack of entry to the Philadelphi corridor made it difficult. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stressed that there should be some solutions to the devastating humanitarian crisis to maintain stability in the region.
Qatar
Qatar and Egypt are mediators. Qatar hosted indirect talks, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was the first to announce the opening of the ceasefire on January 19, 2025, as well as coordinate one of the delivery points, the Rafah crossing. Qatar urged Hamas to agree to the May 2024 formula and restart hostage releases following a pause in February. But when Hamas turned down a proposal given in July 2025, Qatar was frustrated, and even the mediators pressed it to respond in a new way.
United Nations
Also, the United Nations has endorsed the ceasefire using Resolution 2735, June 10th, 2024, which entailed a three-phase framework. UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, urged that the following priority is to relieve the massive suffering of Gaza. The UN has increased the operation of aid, whereby on January 20, 2025, 915 trucks entered Gaza and condemned the aid blockades by Israel. UNRWA is still crucial in the field of healthcare and education, although Israel has no evidence of Hamas penetration.
European Union
However, Europe has not been able to take a central stage as other European countries such as France, Ireland, Spain, and Norway, have been acknowledging the statehood of Palestine, putting further pressure on a ceasefire. The EU condemned Israel and its inhumane killing of civilians, and unrestricted access to aid should be granted. Nevertheless, the EU is limited in its influence within the region compared to the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, as it is only involved in the political sphere regarding humanitarian aid and official statements.
China and Russia
Likewise, China and Russia have been less partisan in ceasefire initiatives by the UN through resolutions. The January 2025 deal was welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who insisted that there should be more aid and a Palestinian state. China voted in favour of Resolution 2735, citing that Gaza was in a humanitarian crisis, but the agreement had issues with ambiguity. The two countries propose a two-state solution, though they can pressure the other side as mediators.
Deals and Prisoner Exchanges in the Israel vs. Hamas Crisis
From the beginning of the ceasefire, the agreement is that the Hostage and prisoner exchanges form part of the elaborate framework provided in the Israel vs Hamas latest ceasefire, although the challenges have hampered progress.
Recent Prisoner Exchange Deals
The May 2024 proposal on which the ceasefire was founded issued the plan in three phases, and the first six steps of the phase included the truce, which was to occur on January 19, 2025, and last six weeks. The first stage was connected to Hamas releasing 33 Israeli hostages (the women, older adults, and the wounded) in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The second phase was meant to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and the release of remaining male hostages.
In contrast, the trade of the remains of the dead hostages and the commencement of rebuilding Gaza were to be the third phase. This precedent was already set in a previous November 2023 truce, where 105 Israeli hostages were traded for 240 Palestinian prisoners. The deal concluded in Doha in January 2025 was heralded as one to bring the war to an end; however, it disintegrated in March, putting a halt to further negotiations.
Number of Prisoners Exchanged
As of February 27, 2025, Hamas had handed over 33 hostages, of whom eight were bodies, whereas in Israel, 44 teenagers and two women were among nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners released on February 27. More than 600 inmates were freed after night negotiations with phase two talks, before a few of them were detained without charges after October 2023.
However, the exchange was done after the ratio of prisoner identities and Israel freed more than 200 life-serving prisoners in the action, whose cases were related to terrorism. The focus on these swaps was to foster trust, but disagreements based on numbers and rules were a setback.
Challenges and Delays
There were tremendous challenges that hindered the Israel-Hamas negotiations:
- Israeli Violations: Hamas claimed that Israel violated the ceasefire by conducting airstrikes and killing Palestinian people around aid locations, as well as the 11-week aid blockade between the 2nd March and the 19th of May 2025. The UN and the mediators referred to the blockade as collective punishment.
- Hamas Delays: Israel accused Hamas of foot-dragging on the release of hostages due to technical problems on January 19, and hostage releases stalled on February 10, 2025, until pressure by mediators prompted Hamas to restart releases on February 13.
- Redeployment of Troops: Hamas wanted the complete Israeli pullout in the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors, after which it would have absolute control over the area, whereas Israel wanted to maintain power to curb smuggling activities. Those disagreements hampered the July 2025 negotiations in Doha.
- Permanent Ceasefire Tensions: Hamas wanted assurances of a permanent cease-fire, but Netanyahu wanted Hamas to be disarmed, which could not be agreed to by Hamas’s new leader in Gaza, Izz al-Din al-Haddad.
On July 24, 2025, the U.S. and Israeli negotiators pulled out of Doha with envoy Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas for a rejectionist posture. Hamas came up angry, saying the maps presented by Israel to redeploy its troops were not acceptable.
Humanitarian and Political Implications
One thing is certain: the Gaza ceasefire agreement started with profound implications. When it failed, this caused a greater crisis:
- Humanitarian Crisis: The resulting ceasefire first saw a burst of aid, with 10,000 trucks making deliveries to Gaza as of February 2025, with 600,000 displaced Palestinians allowed to return north. Nevertheless, famine risks occurred due to the March blockade, with 57 deaths resulting from malnutrition in July 2025.
Also, more than 90 per cent of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed, and it would cost around 53 billion dollars to rebuild Gaza. Méthodews was cited as reporting 25 per cent of pregnant women and children screened as malnourished by Médecins Sans Frontières.
- Political Processes: The collapse of the ceasefire strengthened hawks in the Israeli coalition, with the National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying he was against making concessions. The negotiation by Hamas with Fatah to be part of a technocratic government in Gaza indicates a possible change of governance with the involvement of Hamas. Still, there is the looming problem of the refusal by Israel.
- Regional Stability The arrangement was associated with bigger ambitions, a Saudi normalisation with Israel, if there is a Palestinian state. The debilitated Iranian-led alliance of resistance (Hezbollah, Syria) changed the strategic calculations of Hamas, and what complicates the situation is the continuous Houthi attacks in Israel.
The question is whether the Israel-Hamas ceasefire can bring peace to Gaza. Unless there is strict enforcement, the cycle of violence continues.
Conclusion
The Israel vs Hamas ceasefire, launched on January 19, 2025, offered hope for ending Gaza’s devastating war, with 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners exchanged. Yet, violations, disputes over troop withdrawals, and stalled talks in July 2025 underscore its fragility. Mediators like the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, and the UN face challenges in bridging gaps, while Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, marked by famine risks and 58,000 deaths, demands urgent action. Sustained diplomacy and international oversight are critical to prevent further escalation. Stay informed on the Israel-Hamas crisis by subscribing to our newsletter for updates on Gaza’s path to peace.
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