Trump Announces Gaza Peace Deal as Conflict Death Toll Mounts
On Wednesday, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had reached agreement on the first phase of a U.S.-proposed peace deal aimed at resolving the ongoing Gaza conflict. The deal stipulates the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas and a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, reports 24brussels.
The war, triggered by Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli fatalities and has since caused the deaths of over 67,000 Palestinians. This makes it the deadliest conflict between the two sides since Israel’s establishment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu originally nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize in July, acknowledging America’s influence in striking Iran’s nuclear ambitions and facilitating the cease-fire that concluded the conflict. “It’s well deserved, and you should get it,” Netanyahu stated during a White House meeting with Trump on July 7.
During his second term as U.S. president, Trump has asserted that he ended “seven wars.” The U.S. State Department released a list of those conflicts, which includes Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.
Despite skepticism from foreign policy experts and fact-checking by several media organizations regarding Trump’s claims, his mediation in achieving a cease-fire in Gaza has garnered praise from international leaders, as well as support from people in both Israel and Gaza who have chanted his name.
The Nobel Peace Prize, founded by Alfred Nobel in the 19th century, is presented annually to individuals who have made significant contributions towards fraternity among nations, the reduction of standing armies, and the promotion of peace congresses.
