Return of War in Gaza: A Matter of Time?
On Sunday, October 12, just one day before the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit, I conducted an interview with journalist Samah Hassanin on Radio Makan, part of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, in Arabic, to discuss Trump’s Gaza plan and the upcoming summit.
During the interview, I highlighted a crucial point that has not received the attention it deserves, stating that it could potentially derail any ceasefire agreement. On Friday, October 10, the three factions Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issued a joint statement rejecting any foreign oversight of Gaza, emphasizing that the administration of the territory is purely a Palestinian matter.
I explained that this stance fundamentally conflicts with several key provisions in Trump’s Gaza plan.
Clause One stipulated that Gaza should be free of extremism and terrorism, posing no threat to neighboring states. Clause Nine proposed that Gaza be governed by a temporary authority overseen by a non-political Palestinian technocratic committee, responsible for managing the public services and daily municipal affairs of the territory’s residents.
Meanwhile, Clauses Thirteen and Fourteen obligated Hamas and other factions not to play any role, directly or indirectly, in Gaza’s governance, with explicit directives to dismantle military and terrorist infrastructures, including tunnels and weapons production facilities, and a strict prohibition on rebuilding them.
Thus ended the excerpt from my interview, but what followed proved that reality is moving in the exact opposite direction of what is written in plans and documents.
During the Israeli hostages’ handover, the world was stunned to witness hundreds of Hamas and Al-Qassam Brigade members parading in organized displays, appearing in peak physical condition, suggesting that they had undergone comprehensive training camps, not languished in an area depicted by international media as suffering from severe famine.
The weapons they carried appeared brand new, and the vehicles showed no signs of wear, raising serious questions about the scale of resources and armaments within the movement despite the constant rhetoric about siege, poverty, and hardship.
The following day, the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit took place, closely watched worldwide amid optimistic statements by the U.S. President and global leaders, particularly the Troika countries that joined the U.S. in signing the summit document: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The signed document affirmed principles of tolerance, respect, and equal opportunities for all, guaranteeing that the region would be a space of peace, security, and economic prosperity, regardless of race or religion. It also outlined a comprehensive vision for peace, security, and shared prosperity based on mutual respect and a unified destiny.
Yet I remained deeply apprehensive about this excessively optimistic rhetoric, which fundamentally contradicted the actual approach of the Troika countries Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey all sharing a firm desire to keep Hamas involved in the scene by any means necessary.
My doubts were further reinforced by the weak official representation of the two most influential countries in regional affairs; Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed were absent, with their countries represented only by the Saudi Foreign Minister and the UAE Vice President.
This absence was not a mere protocolary detail but a clear political indicator that there was more to the story a point I will revisit at the end of this article.
Just a few hours after the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, the world witnessed catastrophic scenes inside Gaza, revealing a collapse of security and militia control, turning the territory into an open theater of organized chaos and violence, a painful reminder that reality does not spare hopeful rhetoric or polished diplomatic promises.
In recent days, the territory experienced a bloody internal explosion reminiscent of the chaos during the height of ISIS expansion.
Field executions carried out by Hamas members were documented against dozens of Gaza residents, with shocking footage and credible testimonies showing immediate killings in the streets without any trials or legal procedures.
The violence extended to heavy weapon bombardment, targeting the homes of the Daghmash family in Gaza City, resulting in civilian casualties and widespread destruction, flagrantly violating the most basic standards of justice and humanity.
Regarding role allocation, the Deputy Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad, Mohammed Al-Hindi, told Al Jazeera several days ago:
“The resistance factions have not agreed to disarmament, and we will not accept the threat of forced disarmament. We also reject the appointment of a senior international commissioner to manage Gaza, as this is an illegitimate foreign intervention.”
His statement confirms that events are heading toward the breakdown of the agreement and the resumption of war in Gaza.
Returning to the Saudi and Emirati stance, Israeli journalist Dani Zakin revealed in an article published by Israel Hayom titled:
“Ending the War on the Brink of Collapse: Saudi and UAE Exceptional Warning”
Zakin stated that Saudi Arabia and the UAE conveyed their warnings to the U.S. administration through Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, indicating that the mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey are lenient with Hamas regarding disarmament.
He emphasized that continued leniency could erode the agreement and sabotage the ceasefire process, threatening Gaza’s stability and complicating hostage recovery efforts.
In their latest appeal to Washington, the Saudis warned that if decisive action is not taken and the mediators’ path is not corrected to enforce the agreement clauses with Hamas, the kingdom will not participate in the next phase of the operation nor in the reconstruction conference scheduled in Cairo next month a position similarly held by the UAE, though with slightly less intensity.
In conclusion, all of the above underscores the impossibility of reconciling contradictory visions: between states genuinely striving for peace and others that exploit enmity and hatred, deceiving the world into believing they are working for Middle East stability while, in reality, they master the art of supporting a terrorist movement through every deceptive means, far removed from responsible state conduct.
Consequently, the return of war seems inevitable, unless a miracle occurs in an era where the world has bid farewell to miracles.
A final word to all Hamas supporters worldwide:
Would you have accepted the Nazis ruling Germany after their surrender in 1945?
The radical Islamist movements are nothing but Nazism in the guise of this era..
