Will a ceasefire deal move forward after two years of war between Israel and Hamas?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Consider This from NPR

Episode: Will a ceasefire deal move forward after two years of war between Israel and Hamas?
Date: October 9, 2025
Host: Scott Detrow
Guest Contributor: Daniel Estrin (NPR Middle East Correspondent)

Overview

This episode explores the historic announcement that, after two years of intense conflict, Israel and Hamas have agreed to phase one of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. Scott Detrow and NPR’s Daniel Estrin dig into what this moment means for both Israelis and Palestinians—balancing cautious hope with the deep skepticism and trauma shaped by years of violence. The conversation covers the reality on the ground, the political factors making this ceasefire possible, and the emotional and societal toll on individuals and families affected by the war.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Ceasefire Announcement: Hope and Skepticism

• Historic Move:

  • President Trump announced the agreement on the first phase of a ceasefire and peace framework.
  • Initial reactions from both sides include hope for peace and ongoing skepticism due to the history of failed ceasefires.

  "I think it's going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace, peace in the Middle East." — President Trump (00:05)

• Staggering Human Cost:

  • Over 67,000 Palestinians killed (per Gaza’s Health Ministry).
  • Israeli towns devastated, with infrastructure and trust ground down.
  • 48 hostages remain in Gaza out of 251 from October 7, 2023; less than half believed alive.

• Voices from Both Sides:

  • Ahmed Eid, a Gaza father who lost 150 family members, expresses subdued reaction:

    "What exactly should I be happy for with all the bloodshed and martyrs?" — Ahmed Eid (01:38)

  • Moore Godard, Israeli, lost both parents in Hamas’s attack, remains in mourning and questions the nation’s direction:

    "I lost my trust in the country, my trust in the army. ... They're acting out of revenge and not out of values." — Moore Godard (01:53, 02:20)

Why Now? The Factors Behind the Breakthrough

• Role of U.S. Leadership and Trump’s 'X Factor':

  • Previous ceasefire efforts collapsed repeatedly—skepticism was deeply ingrained.

  • Daniel Estrin credits U.S. President Trump’s assertive involvement and his role as Netanyahu’s "last lifeline" for pushing the sides together.

  • U.S. guarantees that Israel will not resume hostilities once hostages are released—a critical assurance for Hamas.

    "What's different here is that the US is guaranteeing that Israel will not resume the war once Hamas releases the hostages. And that guarantee is the key factor." — Daniel Estrin (06:00)

  • Trump’s closer ties to Netanyahu enabled leverage that previous administrations lacked.

Challenges Ahead: Partial Peace and a Long Road

• Limited Scope of the Deal:

  • Phase one is essentially an exchange of hostages, prisoners, and partial Israeli withdrawal.
  • The most difficult issues—Hamas’s weapons, Gaza’s security, Palestinian statehood—are deferred for future stages.

  "If you're thinking about peace in the Middle east, this is small potatoes. It is a huge breakthrough, don't get me wrong. But the tricky part is the next stage of the deal..." — Daniel Estrin (07:38)

• Future and Durability:

  • The Trump plan contains vague points about Palestinian self-determination, but avoids concrete discussion.

  • Israel is now more openly against a Palestinian state than ever, while broader pathways for peace remain uncertain.

  • Lasting peace is improbable unless underlying issues—dispossession, security, identity—are addressed.

    "As long as the root issues of the Israeli Palestinian conflict are not addressed, most people here believe it's just a matter of time before the next round of violence." — Daniel Estrin (08:55)

What Has Been Lost: Two Years and Two Days On

• Widespread Trauma and Loss:

  • In Gaza: homes, families, infrastructure, sense of safety.

  • In Israel: trust in state and military—foundational sense of security is shattered.

  • Both societies are experiencing trauma, reinforcing historical narratives of victimhood (Nakba, Holocaust).

    "What hasn't been lost? Palestinians in Gaza have lost nearly everything... Israelis, as a collective, have fundamentally lost trust in their country's ability to keep them safe." — Daniel Estrin (09:10)

• Personal Stories:

  • Daniel recounts visiting the hospital in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, encountering a former college professor who lost his daughter in the attack. Two years later, that pain persists, deeply affecting the next generation.

    "It doesn't end for them. My grandson in particular, when his mother died literally on top of him and his father next to him with his arm blown off by a grenade. How does one exercise that from one's memory?" — Grandfather, unnamed interviewee (10:53)

  • The hope for reconciliation—children who attended schools for both Arabs and Jews—now sits side by side with immense personal loss and doubt about the future.

    "Can they disassociate what happened to them directly on that terrible day from what is a deeply held value of the need for reconstructing relationships? I don't know, but it's going to color their life as long as they live." — Grandfather, unnamed interviewee (11:25)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [00:05] President Trump on the new deal:
  "I think it's going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace, peace in the Middle East."

• [01:38] Ahmed Eid, Gaza father:
  "What exactly should I be happy for with all the bloodshed and martyrs?"

• [02:20] Moore Godard, Israeli survivor:
  "They're acting out of revenge and not out of values, she says."

• [06:00] Daniel Estrin on U.S. guarantees:
  "The US is guaranteeing that Israel will not resume the war once Hamas releases the hostages. And that guarantee is the key factor."

• [08:55] Daniel Estrin on root issues:
  "As long as the root issues of the Israeli Palestinian conflict are not addressed, most people here believe it's just a matter of time before the next round of violence."

• [10:53] Grandfather in Israel:
  "It doesn't end for them. My grandson in particular, when his mother died literally on top of him and his father next to him with his arm blown off by a grenade. How does one exercise that from one's memory?"

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Important Timestamps

• [00:00-02:26] — War’s toll through human stories (Ahmed Eid, Moore Godard); introduction of ceasefire deal
• [04:43-09:00] — In-depth discussion between Scott Detrow and Daniel Estrin: skepticism, American diplomacy, deal structure, political realities
• [09:10-11:43] — The personal and collective losses of the past two years; impact on children, communities, and long-term prospects
• [10:53] — Emotional account from Israeli grandfather on intergenerational trauma and loss

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Tone

• Thoughtful, empathetic, and probing. The conversation draws directly from vivid personal experiences and hard political realities, balancing the somberness of loss with the tentative hope for a breakthrough.

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Final Thoughts

• The announcement of a ceasefire marks a rare bright spot after relentless violence, but the trauma and fractured trust on both sides cloud celebrations.
• While the U.S.-led deal provides a framework for immediate de-escalation, the most intractable and painful issues between Israelis and Palestinians remain unresolved.
• As Daniel Estrin poignantly notes, "Most people here believe it's just a matter of time before the next round of violence" absent deeper solutions.
• Yet, in the stories of survivors—from bereaved parents to children caught between worlds—lingers both the impossibility of true closure and the enduring hope for future reconciliation.

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Transcript

[Scott Detrow]

After two years of bloodshed, Israel and Hamas have agreed to phase one of a ceasefire deal.

[Daniel Estrin]

I think it's going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace, peace in the Middle East.

[Scott Detrow]

That's President Trump speaking at the White House today. It is a moment of hope amid a war that has had an enormous toll. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's military campaign in Gaza. That's according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli bombs have flattened entire towns and leveled tens of thousands of buildings in Israel. Residents still feel the ripple effects of Hamas's 2023 attack. The Israeli government says 48 hostages remain in Gaza. Of the 251 people taken into captivity on October 7, less than half of them are believed to still be alive. And families continue to mourn the roughly 1200 people who were killed that day. In the last two years, NPR reporters have met many people in Gaza and Israel who have talked about the impact of the war and what it would take to rebuild, move forward. Ahmed Eid is a father in Gaza. He spoke with NPR after a ceasefire was announced earlier this week and said it was way too soon to celebrate. He says, what exactly should I be happy for with all the bloodshed and martyrs? Eid says he's lost 150 family members in the Israeli attacks over the last two years. He's been living in a tent with his children displaced from his home. He says people have no food or water. Moore Godard lost both her parents in a Hamas led attack on her Kibbutz on October 7. She says her father's body is still being held by militants in Gaza as a bargaining chip in the war. Recently she told NPR's Daniel Estrin about the toll of the war.

[Daniel Estrin]

I lost my trust in the country, my trust in the army. Terrorists entered my house, tried to open the safe room door.

[Scott Detrow]

And when they.

[Daniel Estrin]

Didn'T succeed, they set the house on fire and nobody can.

[Scott Detrow]

Godard says she is mourning her parents and also the road Israel has taken over the past two years.

[Daniel Estrin]

They're acting out of revenge and not out of values, she says.

[Scott Detrow]

Consider this. There is now a pathway to end the war between Israel and Hamas. It's a moment of hope, but also of skepticism. So where might this 20 point peace plan lead? From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow.

[Scott Carter]

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[Daniel Estrin]

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[Scott Detrow]

It's Consider this from NPR real quick. Before we get back to the show, we have heard from listeners who say that Consider this has become a part of their daily routine, a way to make sense of things. If that is true for you, too, take a couple minutes and leave us a review. It's a small thing, but it really does help people find this show. And thanks. For the first time in a long time, the headlines out of Israel and Gaza are about the possibility of peace. That's because late yesterday President Trump announced that both Israel and Hamas had agreed to phase one of the framework of a peace deal. NPR's Daniel Estrin has been covering the war since the very beginning. He has covered the region for more than a decade. And I asked Daniel to join us to talk about this moment, the hope that comes with it, as well as the skepticism. Daniel, it has been a long week, a long 24 hours. Thank you for talking to us for a little bit.

[Daniel Estrin]

Oh, it's great to talk to you, Scott.

[Scott Detrow]

Let's start with that. What is the general feeling where where you are? Is it more hope or is it more skepticism?

[Daniel Estrin]

You know, everyone here has been conditioned to be skeptical for the last two years and two days, to be exact. We've seen ceasefire efforts fall through again and again. We've seen how Hamas has fought till the last man, no matter how many civilians were killed and how much Gaza was destroyed. We have seen Israel's leadership thwart ceasefire efforts repeatedly. We've seen how prolonged war has served Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political survival. And yet it is incredible for me to say this, but for the first time, people here really are giving themselves permission to hope. Wow.

[Scott Detrow]

Why do you think that is? What's different this time.

[Daniel Estrin]

President Trump has been the X factor, especially for Netanyahu. It was exactly one month ago when Hamas negotiators were sitting in Qatar meeting to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, when Netanyahu ordered strikes to try to kill them. It failed, but it was a pivotal moment. Netanyahu came to the White House.

[Scott Detrow]

Shortly.

[Daniel Estrin]

After, and President Trump said, I have a peace plan I've worked out with Arab countries. They're on board. They're going to bring Hamas on board. You better be on board, too. What's different here is that the US Is guaranteeing that Israel will not resume the war once Hamas releases the hostages. And that guarantee is the key factor.

[Scott Detrow]

And Daniel, is the reason that that guarantee carries weight. Is that because Netanyahu has a better relationship with President Trump than he did President Biden? Is it because President Trump has been so aggressive about threatening at times Hamas, at times Israel saying stop this at else at a certain time, and people are by and large listening?

[Daniel Estrin]

I think it's because Netanyahu has no other ally today than President Trump. Trump was his last lifeline. And Trump was able to get Netanyahu to stop the Iran war. And now he has done the same with Gaza.

[Scott Detrow]

This, of course, is not the first time a US President has gotten deeply involved in negotiations. And this is not the first time that there has been a feeling of cautious optimism. Right. President Clinton got very close a couple of times to a lasting deal. There were the Oslo accords near the end of his second term. He brought Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak together in 2000, only to have things fall apart. How are you thinking right now about the durability and the future of this new peace plan?

[Daniel Estrin]

Well, President Trump talks about this being peace in the Middle East. We're not there yet. This is phase one of a deal to exchange hostages and prisoners. This is a deal for a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. If you're thinking about peace in the Middle east, this is small potatoes. It is a huge breakthrough, don't get me wrong. But the tricky part is the next stage of the deal, which is will Hamas be disarmed? What kind of multinational peacekeeping force could be in Gaza? And then there are the very last points of President Trump's 20 point plan for the Middle east, which discuss in these very vague terms some kind of future pathway for Palestinian self determination for a Palestinian state what successive US Presidents have tried to achieve. And one fundamental shift in this war is that Israel has never before spoken so openly against a Palestinian state, as it has now, and the Trump administration is avoiding more discussion of the topic. So this deal may lead down the road to diplomatic ties between Israel and other Arab countries. But if we've learned anything from the past two years and two days of war, it's that as long as the root issues of the Israeli Palestinian conflict are not addressed, most people here believe it's just a matter of time before the next round of violence.

[Scott Detrow]

Let's pause for a moment, though, at this moment in time. And, Daniel, tell me what in your mind has been lost on both sides over the past two years and two days, as you put it.

[Daniel Estrin]

I mean, what hasn't been lost? Palestinians in Gaza have lost nearly everything. Their homes, their limbs, their schools, their lives. Israelis, as a collective, have fundamentally lost trust in their country's ability to keep them safe. Both peoples have experienced trauma that echo their worst chapters in history. Whether that's the Nakba, the displacement of Palestinians in the founding war surrounding Israel's creation, or the Holocaust for Jews. This has bred resentment, revenge, and generations on both sides that may not be hopeful that they can chart a better path forward.

[Scott Detrow]

Yeah, you've covered just about every minute of this war. I still think about talking to you over the microphones in the very early hours of October 7th two years ago. What moments or stories that you've experienced are sticking in your mind today.

[Daniel Estrin]

I remember that I spoke to you from the hospital in southern Israel where I stumbled upon an old college professor of mine who split his time between the US And Israel, and his daughter was killed in the hamas attack on October 7th. And I called him today and I asked him how he's feeling in this moment. And he spoke about his children who lost their sister in the attack. He spoke about his grandchildren, his grandson who was there when his mother was killed. And this is what he told me.

[Unnamed Interviewee (Grandfather)]

I think of my grandchildren. It doesn't end for them. My grandson in particular, when his mother died literally on top of him and his father next to him with his arm blown off by a grenade. How does one exercise that from one's memory? And at the same time, these kids went to a school for Arab and Jewish children so that they will learn to understand one another and mutual accommodation. Can they disassociate what happened to them directly on that terrible day from what is a deeply held value of the need for reconstructing relationships? I don't know, but it's going to color their life as long as they live.

[Daniel Estrin]

You know, Scott, I've heard voices also in Gaza, echoing the same sentiment that while they feel some sense of relief now, they've lost so much, it's hard to really embrace a sense of happiness in this moment.

[Scott Detrow]

And the way he just doesn't know how the future will play out, I think that's the case for so many people, whether it's the coming days of this deal or the coming years of living in that region.

[Unnamed Interviewee (Grandfather)]

Yeah.

[Scott Detrow]

And here's Daniel Estrin. Thank you for talking to us. Thank you for your coverage, and I hope we can get some sleep sometime soon.

[Daniel Estrin]

Thank you very much, Scott.

[Scott Detrow]

This episode was produced by Katherine Fink, Matt Ozug and Michael Levitt, and featured reporting from Aya Batrawi and Anas Baba. It was edited by Christopher Intaliata and Patrick Jaran Watananan. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's Consider this from npr. I'm Scott Detrow.

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