Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on an initial six-week truce in part by postponing their most vexed disputes for a nebulous second phase – which neither side is sure they will reach.
According to the agreement, 16 days after the initial ceasefire, Israeli and Hamas officials are expected to begin negotiations on the next steps: an end to the war, the release of the remaining hostages alive in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.
Israeli leaders have long insisted they will not end the war until Hamas is destroyed. That seemed far from reality on Sunday as Hamas militants, some brandishing rifles, spread across parts of Gaza in pick-up trucks, showing authority to both Palestinians and Israelis.
Both Israel and Hamas kept some of their bargains. At the end of the 42-day ceasefire, Hamas will still hold about two-thirds of the 98 remaining hostages, including dozens believed to be dead. And Israel will continue to occupy parts of Gaza and hold key prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, the militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure.
But as part of the conversation, the Israeli government will then likely have to decide whether it is willing to choose one of its war aims, the return of the hostages, over the other, the destruction of Hamas. And the choice of hostages could threaten the power of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.
Meanwhile, both sides have agreed to delay a decisive deal on ending the war and the future of Gaza and hope the 42-day ceasefire will work in their favor, said Shlomo Brom, a retired Israeli brigadier general. In particular, Hamas “hopes that the new dynamics will prevent Israel from returning to fighting,” he said.
The decision to accept the temporary ceasefire opened deep fissures within Mr Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, which is full of hardliners. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, resigned in protest from the government and pulled his Jewish Power party from the coalition on Sunday.
The Religious Zionist Party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, has also threatened to destroy the coalition if Mr Netanyahu fails to resume fighting after the end of the 42-day truce. If the party Mr. Smotrich also left, the government of Mr. Netanyahu would have less than half of the seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, which could lead to the fall of the government and the calling of new elections.
On Saturday evening Mr. Netanyahu stressed that the ceasefire is temporary for now. He argued that Israel reserves the right to return to war if “the second phase of negotiations is ineffective,” adding that President-elect Donald J. Trump would support Israel’s decision.
“We reserve the right to return to war, if necessary, with the support of the United States,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.
The fragility of the truce was highlighted on Sunday morning when Hamas did not immediately hand over to Israel a list of hostages to be released, leading to a nearly three-hour delay in the ceasefire. Analysts say the deal is likely to see a number of similar tests over the next few weeks as both sides flex their muscles.
The families of the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza called on the Israeli government to return home the remaining captives by fulfilling all stages of the agreement. Noa Argamani, a freed hostage whose boyfriend, Avinatan Or, remains in captivity, said she was heartbroken that he would not be freed in this round.
“The progress of the past few days is a very important step, but the deal must go through in its entirety, in its entirety, in all its phases,” Ms. Argamani said in a speech in Miami on Thursday.
