After the announcement of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, some believed we were witnessing a genuine turning point toward peace. The reality, however, is that the agreement was designed to open a narrow window of calm while keeping the door wide open for the continuation of the war.
The second phase was the decisive moment: a broader withdrawal, transitional governance arrangements, and a larger prisoner exchange. But it stopped immediately, simply because it was the only part of the plan that would impose a political and military cost on Israel. This is where the obstruction began.
This article outlines the real background behind the halt of the second phase, why the United States cannot and does not want to stop the daily killings, and why Trump appears convinced that the ongoing massacre is “the path” to solving the conflict.
Why did the second phase stop in the first place?
- Because it is the first time Israel would have to pay a price. The first phase of the agreement was comfortable for Israel: releasing some captives, a relative reduction in bombing, no political obligations, and no real withdrawal. The second phase, however, would for the first time require a wider pullback, the entry of a transitional civilian administration, and a reduction of military control. Netanyahu rejects this because it would signal the end of the “war” he uses to stay in power, trigger investigations into the failure of 7 October, and open a serious discussion about governance in Gaza. For this reason he froze the second phase entirely.
- Because Netanyahu survives on a war that never ends. For him, war is not a battle but a means to remain in office. If the second phase begins, investigative committees will start their work, the slogan of “total victory” will collapse, and he will be questioned: Why were the hostages not rescued? Why did the killing continue aimlessly? This is why he keeps the situation in a space between no full-scale war and no real peace, but rather a low-intensity daily killing.
- Because two fundamentally opposing projects collided. Hamas wants a permanent end to the war, lifting the siege, and written guarantees against reoccupation. Israel wants to strip the resistance of its power, impose permanent security oversight, and install a weak civilian administration with no independent decision-making. The agreement therefore turned into a clash between two incompatible visions.
Why is the United States unable to impose the second phase or stop the killings?
- Because it is not a mediator but an active party. American support for Israel is the deepest of any modern conflict: full political cover, daily bombs and missiles, and blocking every attempt at condemnation in the United Nations. America does not pressure Israel; it shields it from pressure.
- Because politically weakening Israel costs Washington more than the humanitarian destruction of Gaza. US presidents, Republican and Democrat alike, fear lobbying networks, a biased media landscape, and the Christian Zionist voting bloc. They therefore prefer supporting genocide over risking electoral losses.
- Because the Trump-Netanyahu plan is built on “post-genocide peace”. The second phase is not a cessation of killing but the restructuring of Gaza after exhausting it. The American idea is: “Let us start peace after the resistance is eliminated and Gaza loses its ability to live”. It is a peace built over rubble.
Why does Israel continue daily killings despite the presence of a truce?
- Because killing is part of the doctrine of “total victory”. Netanyahu has repeatedly declared that his goal is the elimination of Hamas. Since the resistance has not been defeated, Israel uses systematic killing, assassinations, starvation, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. All of this is marketed to the public as a continuation of “the mission”.
- Because the occupation project requires constant pressure. Behind the army’s operations lies a deeper plan: pushing Gazans to emigrate, destroying the social fabric, imposing a new demographic reality, and integrating Gaza into a regional economic scheme that serves Tel Aviv. This project requires a flame that does not go out even if it burns slowly.
- Because the “day after” terrifies Israel. If the killing stops, Israel will be forced to answer: Who will govern Gaza? Will it withdraw? Will it accept a Palestinian state? And was the war justified at all? These are questions Israel seeks to escape.
The key question: Is Trump truly convinced of Netanyahu’s plan?
- Yes. Trump views the solution as primarily military. He has openly stated that “Israel must finish the problem in Gaza”, that “eliminating Hamas is essential”, and that “Hamas is the only obstacle to the deal”. This is language that supports war, not peace.
- He calls for temporary pauses not out of mercy but tactical manoeuvring. When Trump demands “calm”, the aim is to pressure Hamas into submission or to blame it for failure. There is no humanitarian dimension to the request.
- Trump and Netanyahu share one worldview. Both believe in military decisiveness first, re-engineering Gaza second, and imposing a political solution by force. This is why Trump behaves like an “architect of the agreement” serving Israel, rather than a mediator between two parties.
Strategic conclusion: what does this mean for the resistance and the Ummah?
- The second phase is not stalled but deliberately stopped because it is the moment that would impose responsibility on Israel, something Netanyahu refuses.
- The United States is not incapable but unwilling, because it is a direct partner in the war, not a guarantor of peace.
- The daily killing is not an error but part of the plan to break Gaza, reshape its political and demographic reality, and dismantle its resistance.
- The struggle today is not between one agreement and another but between two projects: a project of extermination and regional re-engineering, and a project of steadfastness that has become a global model.
- The duty of the Ummah is clear: supporting Gaza politically, legally and in the media; isolating Israel internationally; exposing the American role; and building a long-term, resilient resistance-oriented framework.
The second phase did not stop for technical reasons. It stopped because the war has not ended in the minds of Netanyahu and Trump. What is happening now is not a “peace setback” but an attempt to impose a peace built upon graves.
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