On the end of the war – Amos Harel in Haaretz

‘From the moment Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, landed in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, it was pretty clear that a deal had been agreed on. Witkoff arrived in Egypt with one goal – to finalize an agreement – irrespective of the reservations of the sides. That's what his boss wanted; he's locked into another goal – being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, whose recipient is to be announced on Friday, in Oslo.
The American steamroller was put into motion on both Israel and Hamas, and also on the mediating countries of Qatar and Egypt, and the newcomer, Turkey. When Trump starts sounding like Tony Soprano, no one can really get in his way. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu perhaps less than anyone.’

(…)

‘The key moment that led to the signing of the deal before dawn on Thursday is clearly emerging: the failed Israeli attack on Doha on September 9 in an attempt to wipe out Hamas' negotiating team. Netanyahu gave Trump a vague heads-up about his intention, but that didn't assuage the president's wrath afterward.’

(…)

‘The prime minister will try to frame the end of the war as a success: Hamas will return all the hostages without the IDF withdrawing from the whole Gaza Strip; Trump will visit Israel and speak to the Knesset, where he will undoubtedly praise his close relations with Netanyahu.’

(…)

‘Moreover, it's perfectly clear that if it were up to Netanyahu alone, we would not have arrived at an agreement.
Last January, just before taking office, Trump urged Israel to conclude the previous hostage deal. Netanyahu blew it up, unilaterally, in March, by resuming aerial attacks on Hamas (in one sortie nearly 400 people were killed, among them top figures in Hamas' political arm and many civilians).
Only Trump's personal intervention, after a delay of seven more months, has now apparently brought this long and painful saga to an end. The bottom line is that Netanyahu capitulated to Trump. That's what happened here.’

(…)

‘The Palestinians believe they have achieved internationalization of the conflict in a way that has never occurred before and in complete contrast to Netanyahu's declared goals.
Many issues remain open, apparently by design. For the Americans, it's important to complete the first stage: the release of 48 hostages, living and dead, in return for almost 2,000 Palestinians, including 250 terrorists with life sentences for murder. They hope to arrange everything else afterward.’

(…)

‘When Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif ordered the murderous Nukhba Force to infiltrate Israeli territory on the night between October 6 and 7, two years ago, it's likely that they were at least partially able to anticipate what to expect if their plan succeeded. Hamas prepared for the assault – Al-Aqsa Flood, as it was dubbed – over the course of at least five years. The decision to launch it was based on an analysis of the internal divisions in Israel and the low level of alert of the IDF.
The attack had far-reaching goals: the conquest of the area that was the responsibility of the IDF's Gaza Division, in preparation for an Israeli defeat (as well, perhaps, as a subsequent attack by the Shi'ite axis led by Iran and Hezbollah); restoration of the Palestinian question to the top of the regional and international agenda; disrupting the advanced process of normalization that the Biden administration had initiated between Israel and Saudi Arabia; and revenge for the unilateral measures taken by the Israeli government and police on the Temple Mount.
The brutality of the terrorists wasn't a bug in the plan but an actual feature. Through the use of murder, rape and horrific abuse, Hamas in large measure dragged the Israelis into the mud along with Hamas itself. In light of the scale of the massacre, Israel responded as it tends to respond: unleashing tremendous force, almost blindly. The main goal was deterrence, in the vague hope that the other side would feel the cost and be afraid to make similar moves at least in the coming decades.’

Read the article here.

Trump i.e. the Soprano in the White House as an unlikely Messiah.

The Americans had to come twice in the last century to save the Europeans.

Now Trump, had to save the Israelis, for the time being.

Again, the end of the war, at least that’s what it looks like now, is good news. But I remain extremely skeptical that the status quo will change.

Perhaps, deterrence is reestablished. But, see the article, against what cost.