Will this ceasefire finally end the war in Gaza?

Will both sides honour the agreement and what will the next stage of this peace plan look like?

Listen | 24:14
A cheering throng greets Palestinian prisoners released by Israel as they arrive at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Monday, October 13th, 2025. Photograph: Saher Alghorra/The New York Times
A cheering throng greets Palestinian prisoners released by Israel as they arrive at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Monday, October 13th, 2025. Photograph: Saher Alghorra/The New York Times

On Monday, more than two years after the conflict in Gaza began – a war which has killed tens of thousands, including an estimated 20,000 children – the remaining living Israeli hostages returned home.

Meanwhile, about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners – including 1,700 from Gaza who have been held by Israel without charge – were released and reunited with family.

The return of hostages and release of prisoners is all part of the first phase of Donald’s Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.

Trump, who spoke before the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on Monday, told cheering lawmakers that the “long and painful nightmare is finally over” and that the agreement marked a “historic dawn of a new Middle East”.

But is the US president correct? Will both sides honour the agreement and what will the next stage of this peace plan look like?

And when so many lives have been lost, where do Palestinians begin when it comes to rebuilding the Gaza Strip?

Today, on In The News, will this ceasefire finally end the war in Gaza?

Irish Times contributors Mark Weiss and Michael Jansen discuss how Trump’s peace plan will work and what the future holds for Palestinians.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Declan Conlon and Suzanne Brennan.

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak is an Irish Times reporter specialising in immigration issues and cohost of the In the News podcast

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