Economist: The obstacles to the Gaza agreement are significant due to a lack of trust and insistence on disarming Hamas.

The Economist stated that the diplomatic breakthrough in Gaza could be a "new beginning for the Middle East" following two years of atrocities and endless rounds of killing in Gaza.

In its main editorial and cover of this week's new issue, it pointed out that many U.S. presidents have worked to achieve a breakthrough in the intractable conflict between "Israel" and the Palestinians.

Now, after two years since the October 7 attacks, Donald Trump has joined the limited list of those who have succeeded.

The magazine added that the preliminary agreement between "Israel" and "Hamas" for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners opens a new vision for the Middle East, describing the opening as narrow, yet it remains the best opportunity for achieving lasting peace since the Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995.

Although the current vision differs radically from the moribund Oslo approach, as it offers a shift from endless abstract negotiations over maps and hypothetical constitutional arrangements for "two states," it instead promises a practical approach, where Gaza is governed and rebuilt, and the militants who once controlled it are removed.

The Economist stated that both Israelis and Palestinians believe they have more to gain from coexistence than from destroying each other.

Success will be less about a celebration at the White House and more about "cement mixers" turning for over a decade in Gaza, curbing violent settlers in the West Bank, the fading threat of rockets, and the slow but increasing faith of ordinary people in a safer and more prosperous future.

The magazine commented that the peace agreement is a victory for Trump's transactional and bullying diplomatic style.

This came after both sides met in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with negotiators from the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey ready to apply pressure, and although the details have not yet been announced, Hamas is expected to release the twenty Israeli prisoners still alive, alongside a parallel release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel, a flow of aid, and a partial withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from the major cities in Gaza, to what Trump called a "mutually agreed line."

Under Trump's 20-point plan, a technocratic government will be formed in the next phase to rebuild Gaza while excluding Hamas from power, which will be disarmed and secured by an international force, and Trump will head a supervisory council until the Palestinians take responsibility, perhaps under a (reformed) Palestinian authority, with the ultimate goal being what Trump calls "permanent peace" between Israel and all Palestinian territories, but the obstacles to progress are enormous, the magazine says.

Negotiators from both sides still need to settle their disagreements over disarming Hamas, for example.

They may agree while planning to sabotage progress later.

With an estimated 78 percent of Gaza's buildings damaged and few remaining industries, the reconstruction process may stumble, and more importantly, ordinary Israelis and Palestinians have lost faith in the possibility of peace.

After thirty years of Oslo, and following October 7, most Israeli Jews see the Palestinian territories as a quasi-failed state; in 2012, 61 percent of Israelis supported a two-state solution, and now perhaps only a quarter of them do, with many showing alarming indifference to the loss of Palestinian lives.

For their part, Palestinians see "Israel" as a rogue state committed to occupying their land and routinely unleashing violence; in a poll in May, 50 percent of them supported the October 7 attacks, and 87 percent denied that Hamas had committed atrocities, while 41 percent supported armed resistance.

However, there are reasons for hope, the Economist says, and the end of the war could lead to a change in leadership on both sides, with the remnants of Hamas being persuaded or forced to abandon any official role in the Gaza government.

Polls also indicate that elections in Israel could lead to Benjamin Netanyahu's departure from office and the end of his coalition with far-right parties.

The magazine adds that prospects have improved abroad; globally, public focus is on peace after years of neglect, and America has a president who is not afraid to pressure Israel strongly, while the willingness of Arab Gulf states not only to fund the reconstruction of Gaza but also to support the peace process, and perhaps help provide security, is a significant step forward, and this is a positive development, according to the magazine, as external parties will need to curb the destructive impulses on both sides.

After pressing Israel to end the war on Iran, rebuking it for striking Qatar, and pushing it toward a prisoner deal, Trump must strive to push Netanyahu or his successor to limit the expansion of Jewish settlements, and he must support Palestinian institutions by preventing Israel from depriving them of customs revenues and stopping