World leaders are talking peace, but it seems that their words do not match their actions.
While the Israel-Palestine ceasefire was in agreement, both sides were accusing each other of not following the deal. An article from The New York Times says, “there are unresolved issues that put the future of the truce at risk.” The ceasefire took place on Friday October 10, 2025, however, on Sunday October 19, 2025, Israel dropped their heaviest attacks. This was a major issue, as the ceasefire had temporarily suspended humanitarian aid. The New York Times also noted that “Israel accused Hamas of violating the agreement by targeting and killing two soldiers.”
That Sunday was a breaking point for many in Gaza. Reports say that 44 Palestinians were killed that day. However, Israel and Palestine still stand to keep that truce.
Over 2,000 Palestinians were being held in Israeli prisons, and there were multiple Israeli hostages held in Gaza. This ceasefire was meant to have each place exchange hostages. While the majority of the hostages were exchanged, an article from NPR, updated on October 9, 2025 said, “Hamas and other Palestinian groups are still holding 48 hostages. Twenty are still believed to be alive.” An article from CNN, released on October 16, 2025 said “Earlier this week, Israel released more than 1,700 Palestinians it had been holding without charge and 250 other Palestinian prisoners, while Hamas freed 20 remaining living hostages.” These hostages were the twenty out of 48 that remained living. The 2,000 hostages that Israel freed included many criminals. The same NPR article says, “They include Palestinians convicted of murder and other serious crimes.” And while this was the case, many of the hostages were regular people detained without charge in the war.
The NPR article also stated that, “the senior Israeli official in charge of hostages, Gal Hirsch, said an international team will be put together to locate the bodies of hostages not found in the coming days.”
Though conflict has been going on for almost 100 years, an end to this phase of war, which began on October 7, 2023, could be close at hand.
