The current troubled and glacial diplomatic process between Israel, the US, its ‘Board of Peace’ and the de facto Hamas authority in Gaza is a derivative of a fact which is difficult to swallow for Israelis: namely, that despite two years of war, the jihadi authority in Gaza has not been destroyed in its entirety. Hamas remains the dominant force on the Palestinian side in the Strip.

Following a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner yesterday, the Prime Minister’s office released a terse statement (in English only) commending the ‘deep and constructive’ discussions which it declared to have taken place. This statement plasters a thin covering of paper over substantial gaps in perception between Washington and Jerusalem regarding Gaza. Hamas, meanwhile, is pursuing its own strategy to ensure its survival as a key player in Palestinian politics and the continued advancement of its long war against Israel. So what are the substantive differences between the US, Board of Peace and Israeli sides, and what do we know about Hamas’s strategy for the near future?

Firstly, and relevantly, why was Hamas, despite its vast military inferiority to Israel, not comprehensively defeated between 2023 and 2025? The absence of any clear Israeli strategy for what would replace the Islamist authority played a role here. But the key element was the organisation’s taking of Israeli civilian hostages.

The memory of the barbaric massacre carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023 remains fresh for Israelis

The memory of the barbaric massacre carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023 remains fresh for Israelis

The safe return of civilian captives is a non-negotiable part of the........

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