Thank you, US President Donald Trump. The war is finally over.
Or at least, that’s how it seemed Thursday morning with the announcement that negotiators in Sharm el-Sheikh had reached a deal. The agreement marks the implementation of the first phase of Trump’s 20-point plan, and the success in reaching it belongs largely to him.
Trump announced he wanted a deal. He pushed all the parties involved to make it happen, applying pressure, leverage, and enormous personal and political capital. The result proves something the world has long known but occasionally forgets: the United States is still a superpower. When it sets its mind to a goal and applies the right mix of determination and investment, it can make things happen.
That’s mostly because it still holds real leverage over Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey. After the last two years, Israel knows that it is almost entirely dependent on the United States. Europe cannot be counted on; nor can Russia or China. The only true ally Jerusalem has is Washington. Qatar also knows this and wanted to ensure that America stays on its side, as does Turkey, which continues to eye approval to purchase American F-35s and more.
With Israel, we saw this dependency repeatedly over the course of the war. During the two rounds of missile barrages fired by Iran last year, it was American technology, coordination, and coalition-building that protected Israel – integrating missile defenses from across the Middle East to intercept drones and ballistic missiles fired by Iran.
We saw it again during the 12-day war in June, when B-2 bombers were needed to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. And now again, it was Washington’s will and Trump’s political weight that made this ceasefire and hostage deal possible.
That dependency is sobering, but it should also be reassuring. America remains invested, at least for now, and continues to view Israel’s security as part of its own strategic interest. The question is whether Israel can learn to navigate that reality while acknowledging its dependence and ensuring that its policies align with long-term sustainability and not short-term politics.
Healing is needed; it will take time
The deal means something even deeper for Israel: the return of the hostages after more than 730 days in captivity. That, above all, is what matters. The trauma they endured, coupled with the trauma the nation has absorbed, will require time, space, and compassion to heal. Israel must now enter a process of collective recovery – physically, emotionally, and politically.
Healing can only begin with accountability. Israel needs a state commission of inquiry to investigate how October 7 happened. For nearly two years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that while the war was ongoing, it was not the time for such an investigation. That argument no longer holds. If the war is coming to a close, then now is precisely the time.
This is existential for Israel – not because of political gain or loss, but because a democracy’s strength lies in its willingness to face the truth. Even as we recognize the government’s real military and diplomatic achievements over the last two years, accountability cannot be selective only when it is positive. A prime minister and his government can deserve both credit and blame all at the same time.
This, however, is not just about Benjamin Netanyahu. It is about the future of the State of Israel and the security of the generations to come. Can anyone imagine that, 52 years ago, after the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israel would have refused to establish a commission of inquiry? Back then, after the miraculous victory of 1967, the idea that Israel could be caught by surprise seemed impossible. Yet after it happened, the Agranat Commission was formed within weeks. The same must happen now.
Investigating October 7 is not about vengeance or politics but about ensuring that such a catastrophe can never happen again.
The world is hypocritical; Israel must be smart
There is a clear double standard in the way the world judges Israel. The accusations of genocide, starvation, and systematic oppression of Palestinians in Gaza are a gross distortion of reality. They ignore not only the extraordinary lengths to which the IDF goes to spare civilians, but also the depth of Hamas’s cynical use of civilian infrastructure, digging a subterranean fortress the size of the New York and London subway systems’ combined tunnels beneath almost every home, hospital, mosque, school, and UN compound.
And yet, even if Israel is right – and it is – it still needs to be smart. After October 7, grief and rage were natural, and the instinct to respond was justified. But as months turned into years, responsible leadership should have recognized that ignoring the world’s perception and expectations came at a price.
Israel must always do what is in its best interest, but that doesn’t mean dismissing the value of legitimacy. Allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza even after the breakdown in the ceasefire earlier this year, for example, would have given Israel diplomatic room to maneuver and potentially extended the world’s patience for its military campaign. You can be right and smart at the same time.
This principle also applies to the government’s refusal to articulate a “day after” plan for Gaza. From the beginning, everyone knew the war would end with a political resolution. As Clausewitz famously said, war is a continuation of politics by other means. By avoiding a clear vision for Gaza’s future, Netanyahu bought temporary political relief from his far-right partners – Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir – who might have bolted from the coalition had they known what the eventual outcome would be: the return of the Palestinian Authority to parts of Gaza, a mass release of Palestinian prisoners, and the gradual withdrawal of the IDF.
As a result, Israelis were sold slogans like “total victory” and “the elimination of Hamas.” The rhetoric may have played well domestically, but it made the world believe that Israel’s objectives were destruction and revenge rather than liberation and reconstruction. That narrative cost Israel precious legitimacy and global support.
The lesson must be internalized for future conflicts: being morally right does not absolve Israel from communicating effectively. In today’s world, legitimacy is a battlefield too. Recognizing how the deck is stacked against us – and shaping policy accordingly – can buy Israel the time and space it needs to achieve its objectives.
Israelis are a nation of lions
When Hamas attacked two years ago, Israel was a divided nation. Five elections in four years, months of protest over judicial reform, and bitter polarization had torn the country apart. But the moment the attack came, Israelis remembered who they were.
They came together – right wing and left wing, religious and secular, kibbutzniks and settlers, Druze and Jews – to fight side by side. They defended their homes, liberated hostages, and redefined courage.
Now, as the guns fall silent, the instinct will be to return to politics as usual: to blame, to point fingers, to reopen old wounds. Who failed? Who should resign? Who betrayed whom? And soon, inevitably, the country will go to elections again – whether in a few months or when the Knesset’s term ends next October. Between the draft law, the budget battles, and the usual political rivalries, there will be plenty to divide us once again.
We cannot allow that to happen. Not again.
We saw what is truly at stake over these last two years. Israel’s security and survival are not guaranteed. The only guarantee comes from the sacrifice of the young men and women who fought valiantly – who lost limbs, buried their friends, and then returned to battle again and again. They reminded us what sacrifice and commitment look like, what unity is, and what love of a country truly means.
For those who have given everything, we owe more. We owe them a better country. One that learns, grows, and holds its leaders accountable. We need to remember why we fight in the first place.
The Trump deal may mark the end of a war, but it must also mark the beginning of renewal. We need to restore our trust in the state, in the IDF, and in our intelligence agencies. We need to once again be able to trust one another when the cannons are not firing. Only this way will we be able to rebuild and rise stronger than before.
The writer is a co-founder of the MEAD policy forum, a senior fellow at JPPI, and a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post. His newest book, While Israel Slept, is a national bestseller in the United States.