We want a full ceasefire, not just a pause they'll break
As Israeli airstrikes killed at least 40 Palestinians — among them women and children, and ten members of a single family — Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump met for the second consecutive day at the White House, pressing toward a ceasefire that has eluded Gaza for nearly two years. The negotiations carry the weight of more than 57,000 documented deaths and the quiet desperation of thousands living in makeshift tents, rationing water in the summer heat. Diplomacy and destruction are unfolding simultaneously, as they so often do in war, each racing against the other toward an uncertain finish.
- Even as ceasefire talks intensified in Washington, Israeli strikes killed 40 Palestinians in a single day — including 10 members of one family — underscoring how war continues at full force while diplomacy inches forward.
- In the tent city of Muwasi, displaced families chase water trucks that arrive only every four days, their children showing signs of dehydration and heat rash in the relentless summer sun.
- Netanyahu and Trump declared unprecedented alignment, framing the moment as a historic opportunity to destroy Hamas and expand regional peace, even as the human toll in Gaza surpasses 57,000 dead.
- U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff resolved three of four key sticking points in negotiations but left one critical issue unnamed and unresolved, with a trip to Doha still ahead.
- Displaced Palestinians like Abeer al-Najjar are not asking for a pause — they are asking for an end, having learned through repeated broken ceasefires that a temporary silence is not the same as peace.
Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House on Tuesday for his second meeting with Donald Trump in two days, the two leaders pressing toward a ceasefire proposal as international mediators worked urgently to finalize a deal. The timing was stark: on Wednesday, hospital officials in Gaza reported at least 40 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes, including 17 women and 10 children. One strike alone killed 10 members of a single family.
The Israeli military said it had struck more than 100 targets in the preceding day — militants, weapons caches, tunnels — maintaining that Hamas embeds its operations among civilians. Since the war began on October 7, 2023, following Hamas's killing of roughly 1,200 Israelis and the taking of 251 hostages, Gaza's Health Ministry has recorded more than 57,000 Palestinian deaths, more than half of them women and children.
In the tent city of Muwasi, the negotiations felt both urgent and hollow. Abeer al-Najjar, displaced from her home, described constant bombardment and the daily struggle for food and water. She was not asking for a temporary pause. Her husband Ali spoke of unbearable summer heat in a crowded tent with no clean water — when a truck arrived, people ran after it with buckets, knowing it might not return for days. Another resident, Amani Abu-Omar, said the truck came only every four days, leaving her children dehydrated and rashed. She had stopped trusting promises of ceasefires.
At the Capitol, Netanyahu told reporters that he and Trump saw eye to eye on destroying Hamas, calling their coordination the strongest in Israel's 77-year history. The two also discussed the recent 12-day conflict with Iran and prospects for expanding the Abraham Accords toward Saudi-Israeli normalization.
The ceasefire proposal would pause the war, free remaining hostages, and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Doha later in the week for indirect talks with Hamas. He said three key disagreements had been resolved, but one critical issue remained open. The machinery of diplomacy was moving — while in Gaza, families waited in tents to learn whether this time it would hold.
Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House on Tuesday evening for his second meeting with Donald Trump in as many days, the two leaders huddling as international mediators worked frantically to finalize a ceasefire proposal that might end the 21-month conflict in Gaza. The timing was grim. On Wednesday, hospital officials in Gaza reported that at least 40 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Strip. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis documented the dead: 17 women, 10 children, and others. One strike alone had killed 10 members of a single family, three of them children.
The Israeli military offered no comment on those specific operations but said it had struck more than 100 targets over the previous day—militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons caches, missile launchers, tunnels. The military maintains that Hamas deliberately embeds its operations among civilians, a claim the organization disputes. Since the war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed roughly 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostage, the Gaza Health Ministry has documented more than 57,000 Palestinian deaths. More than half were women and children. The U.N. and other international bodies treat these figures as the most reliable casualty count available.
In the sprawling tent city of Muwasi, where thousands of displaced Palestinians live in makeshift shelters, the ceasefire negotiations felt both urgent and fragile. Abeer al-Najjar, who had fled her home, spoke of the constant bombardment and the struggle to find enough food and water for her family. She wanted more than a temporary pause. "I pray to God that there would be a pause, and not just a pause where they would lie to us with a month or two, then start doing what they're doing to us again," she said. "We want a full ceasefire." Her husband, Ali, described the summer heat as unbearable in a crowded tent with no access to clean drinking water. When a water truck arrived, people chased it desperately, buckets in hand, knowing it would not return for days.
Amani Abu-Omar, another displaced resident, said the truck came only every four days—nowhere near enough for her children, who showed signs of dehydration and heat rashes. She had learned to be skeptical of promises. "We had expected ceasefires on many occasions, but it was for nothing," she said. The desperation was visible and audible: families rationing water in the Middle Eastern summer, watching for vehicles that might bring relief, hoping that this time the negotiations would hold.
At the Capitol on Tuesday, Netanyahu told reporters that he and Trump saw "eye to eye" on the need to destroy Hamas. He called the coordination between Israel and the United States the strongest it had ever been in Israel's 77-year history. The two leaders also discussed what Netanyahu called the "great victory" achieved through Israeli and American strikes during a 12-day conflict with Iran that had ended two weeks prior. Netanyahu spoke of new opportunities to expand regional peace agreements—the Abraham Accords that Trump had brokered in his first term, and ongoing efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
The ceasefire proposal under discussion would pause the war, secure the release of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, and allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. Most of the original 251 hostages have already been freed through earlier ceasefires. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was expected to travel to Doha later in the week to continue indirect negotiations with Hamas. On Tuesday evening, Witkoff said that three key areas of disagreement had been resolved, though he declined to specify what they were. One critical issue, he indicated, remained unresolved. The machinery of diplomacy was moving, but the outcome was far from certain, and in Gaza, families waited in tents for news that might change everything.
Citas Notables
I pray to God that there would be a pause, and not just a pause where they would lie to us with a month or two, then start doing what they're doing to us again. We want a full ceasefire.— Abeer al-Najjar, displaced Palestinian in Muwasi
We had expected ceasefires on many occasions, but it was for nothing.— Amani Abu-Omar, displaced Palestinian in Muwasi
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Netanyahu keep meeting with Trump right now, in the middle of ongoing strikes?
Because Trump is the one pushing hardest for a ceasefire, and Netanyahu needs American political cover and military support. These meetings signal alignment—that Israel and the U.S. are moving together on this.
But 40 people just died. How do you negotiate while the bombing continues?
That's the contradiction at the heart of this. The strikes are happening because Israel says it's still degrading Hamas capabilities. The negotiations are happening because Trump wants a deal. Both things are true simultaneously, and both are killing people.
What's the one unresolved issue Witkoff mentioned?
He wouldn't say. But typically in these talks it's about what happens after the pause—whether it becomes permanent, whether Israeli forces withdraw, whether Hamas is allowed to remain in any form. Those are the questions that actually matter.
The families in Muwasi—are they representative of most displaced Palestinians?
Yes. Hundreds of thousands have been pushed into these tent cities with minimal water, food, sanitation. The woman who said the truck comes every four days—that's not an outlier. That's the baseline.
Do Gazans actually believe a ceasefire will hold this time?
No. They've been promised pauses before that collapsed. There's exhaustion and skepticism mixed with desperation. They want it to end, but they don't expect it to.