Seeing The Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Through Jewish And Muslim Eyes: What Comes Next?
(ANALYSIS) The release of hostages and prisoners as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas marks a critical juncture in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While this initial step may spark hope, it also underscores the immense and unresolved challenges that lie ahead — particularly for Jews and Muslims, the two religious communities most deeply and painfully entangled in this crisis.
For both, the war that erupted in October 2023 has brought staggering loss and profound trauma. Now, as the ceasefire momentarily halts the deadliest chapter in their shared history, Jews and Muslims are left to grapple not just with political questions of governance, security, and statehood, but with the moral and spiritual weight of survival, grief and identity.
READ: Trump Heralds ‘Historic Dawn Of A New Middle East’ After Israeli Hostages Returned
What’s striking about this ceasefire is not just how tentative it is, but how deeply entwined the experiences of Jews and Muslims have become — not in harmony, but in suffering. Both communities claim moral righteousness. Both grieve their dead. Both celebrate their returning sons. And both are trapped in narratives of fear and survival that often leave little room for compassion or compromise.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us,” President Donald Trump said, urging leaders “to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past.”
The view from Israel
The return of the 20 living Israeli hostages on Monday was met with jubilation across Israel. Public gatherings turned into emotional reunions, and the nation collectively exhaled. Families like those of Eitan Mor and Bar Kupershtein became symbols of resilience and unity, embodying the hope that some healing may yet be possible after nearly two years of war.
Behind the celebrations, many Israeli Jews remain gripped by uncertainty and ambivalence. Four deceased hostages (there are another 24) were also returned. The gruesome reality that not all captives are coming home alive has darkened the collective mood and reinforced the belief that the war, however brutal, was a necessity in the face of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians.
This trauma has become a defining narrative in contemporary Israeli Jewish identity. Yet the war’s continuation has also opened fissures within Jewish society. While many supported military action to retrieve the hostages, growing segments — particularly among liberal and secular Jews — now question whether the ongoing occupation of Gaza and the goal of dismantling Hamas can coexist with efforts to save remaining captives and foster peace.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that the ceasefire “ends the war by achieving all our objectives.”
Does it?
Many Israelis remain skeptical, accusing his administration of prolonging the war for political gain. Weekly protests led by hostage families became a rare unifying force, blending religious and secular — on the political left and right — under one massive plea: Bring them home.
For Jews in Israel and around the world, this moment rekindles a longstanding identity crisis — how to reconcile the state’s military imperative with the ethical tradition that prizes human dignity and the sanctity of life.
Rebuilding Gaza
Throughout much of the Muslim world, the ceasefire was welcomed with guarded optimism. After nearly two years of devastation in Gaza, some 67,000 Palestinians are dead, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Most of them are believed to be civilians.
Entire neighborhoods lie in ruins. Electricity and clean water are scarce. The humanitarian crisis is growing. Nonetheless, the return of prisoners to Gaza and the West Bank was greeted with celebrations — not only for the individuals freed, but for what they symbolized: survival, resistance, and the enduring spirit of a people many Muslims see as oppressed under occupation.
Among the released were those convicted of attacks on Israelis, including those serving life sentences. In Palestinian and broader Muslim discourse, these prisoners are often viewed not as terrorists but as freedom fighters combating colonization. Their return was framed in religious terms by many, invoking gratitude to God and casting their release as a form of divine justice.
Overall, the cost has been enormous. In Gaza, few families remain untouched by death or imprisonment. Muslims watching from afar — like in nearby Egypt and throughout the Gulf states — see the conflict as not only geopolitical but also spiritual: A test of faith in the face of Western aggression.
Still, cracks are visible within Muslim communities, too. While Hamas is hailed by some as a legitimate resistance movement, others in the Arab world have been increasingly critical of its tactics and the suffering they bring. For instance, the question of Gaza’s future governance — whether by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority or an international body — remains bitterly contested. Even within Islamic circles, there's a growing call for accountability, reform, and a path to peace that does not sacrifice innocent lives in the name of struggle.
Future plans
The current ceasefire deal includes ambitious — some would say implausible — plans for Gaza’s governance and security. An international body, possibly involving Arab states and Palestinian technocrats, would oversee day-to-day administration. A reformed Palestinian Authority may be tasked with eventual leadership. And in a nod to longstanding Muslim aspirations, the deal raises — cautiously — the idea of a future Palestinian state.
This remains for many Jews as a nonstarter. Likewise, Hamas’ refusal to disarm reflects the view of many Muslims that without leverage, Palestinians will never achieve sovereignty or safety.
Jewish and Muslim communities now find themselves at a crossroads. Whether they walk deeper into division or inch closer to coexistence may depend less on political leaders than on the collective will of ordinary people — parents reunited with sons, neighbors mourning their dead, worshippers praying for peace.
A lasting solution will require more than ceasefires. It will demand the painful, but necessary, task of humanization — of seeing the other not as enemy, but part of a shared suffering.
“The first steps to peace are always the hardest,” Trump said, adding that “rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part. I think we’ve done a lot of the hardest part because the rest comes together.”
Clemente Lisi is executive editor at Religion Unplugged.