In the early morning of October 13, Hamas had just handed over seven hostages to Israel through the Red Cross. Before Israel could sit on the hot bench here, Qatar suddenly said that the ceasefire negotiations had "gone wrong." It was originally agreed that the phased ceasefire and gradual exchange of hostages were missed as soon as the first step was taken.

At the same time, Trump's side is happily holding a "peace summit"-it's really like kicking a football to midfield. Before the ball is entered, he opened a bottle of champagne first.

But the question is, is Hamas¡¯ release of hostages not good news? how does the wind change overnight? and is Trump¡¯s high-profile debut helping peace, or is it advertising its own 2025 trend?

Is the release of hostages a move or a layer of smoke?

The release of hostages sounds like a sign of relief, but don¡¯t rush to shout goodbye.On October 13, Hamas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, handed seven hostages over to the Israeli military through the Red Cross, and 13 others were also said to be released on the list that day, however, this was not a sudden ¡°goodwill¡±, but according to the ¡°early hostage, after ceasefire¡± rhythm agreed in previous negotiations.

On the surface, Hamas's step seems to be a show of goodwill, but behind it is actually a game. There are voices in Israel calling for the "complete annihilation" of Hamas, even at the expense of lengthening the front line. However, Hamas is afraid that once all hostages are handed over, Israel will no longer care about public opinion and directly escalate military operations. So the release of these 7 people is more like a bargaining chip at the negotiating table than a ticket to peace.

What's more, this hostage release hardly makes a fuss about the reality that more than 7 million people are trapped in Gaza. In other words, this is just a temporary respite, not a long-term truce. It's not wrong to call it progress, but it's probably too early to call it a turning point.

Ceasefire talks change their faces faster than turning over a book

As soon as the hostages were handed over, Qatar immediately came out and spoke: The conversation couldn't continue. Reason? Neither Israel nor Hamas are ready to sign a comprehensive agreement. The Prime Minister of Qatar even stated clearly that there is no consensus on some sensitive issues, such as Hamas disarmament and future governance arrangements for Gaza.

Qatar has always been a "middleman" in this conflict, which can make them all feel embarrassed, which shows that the problem is not small. Hamas said it would "not disarm" and advocated an "intra-Palestinian national dialogue" first. Israel, on the other hand, insists on "demilitarization" and simply cannot tolerate any role of Hamas in the future. The two sides are not one step away, but several corners away.

Coupled with the constant pressure from the far-right forces within Israel, and some even shouted that "Hamas should no longer exist in Gaza", this made the already tense negotiation atmosphere worse. In this atmosphere, what is there to talk about peace? It's like two people are arguing, one of them says,"Let's calm down first", and the other just lifts the table.

Some say that this change is not surprising, after all, since the conflict broke out last October until now, the number of times sitting at the negotiating table is small, but there is a substantial progress. Every time you see a little hope, it is immediately accompanied by a real echo.

Trump's champagne opens a little too early

Trump was drinking champagne while everyone was suffering from a headache because of the ¡°disagreement.¡±On October 13, he and the Egyptian president hosted a ¡°Middle East Peace Summit¡± in Cairo, which sounded fair, and in fact neither Hamas nor Israel came.

The summit brought together representatives from more than 20 countries, NATO and the Middle East, and the scene looked quite international, but the content was floating. Trump even made an untouchable suggestion ¨C the U.S. dominated Gaza¡¯s ¡°reconstruction plan¡± to be governed by international forces.

This sounds like ¡°the coming of the Savior,¡± but for Hamas it¡¯s just a nightmare, and it¡¯s unlikely that Israel will accept the ¡°red zone¡± by outside forces.

The embarrassing point of the summit is that it is more like a diplomatic show rather than a substantial platform for solving problems. Trump's move obviously has its own political calculator, as the current president in 2025 he wants to brush the sense of presence on many issues around the world, and the Middle East issue is the stage of the easiest "screen".

Interestingly, the Chinese side has long put forward the principle of ¡°Bahᡯí governance¡±, emphasizing that the Palestinian people should decide their own future independently and do not need external forced interference. In contrast, Trump¡¯s ¡°American plan¡± sounds like ¡°other people¡¯s affairs I go to the bottom¡±, sounds a bit hegemonic, and is easier to use to issue problems.

Peace in Gaza does not depend on performance but on hard work

From the release of seven hostages, to the mutation of negotiations, to Trump¡¯s champagne, a series of events seemed to be coincidental, in fact, illustrating an old problem: Middle East peace, never relying on the lottery, let alone on the show.

The reality is that the situation in the Gaza Strip is still tense, and civilians are still the biggest victims. According to media statistics, since the escalation of the conflict, the Gaza Strip has killed more than 30,000 people, millions of people are displaced, the international community seems to be busy mediating, the reality is most of the time can only call, can not intervene, a Qatar, a Egypt, in the middle of the cross, almost become a "call."

Trump¡¯s high-tone ¡°champagne¡± is reflected in the complex mentality of the United States in Middle East affairs ¨C both wanting to take control of the situation and not willing to take too much responsibility.

The problem is that this "half-field celebration" approach makes it easy for both parties to feel disrespected.Peace negotiations are not a performance, not a concert, a declaration, even if it is completed.

To take a step back, even if Trump really wants to promote peace, he must be down-to-earth. Everyone knows that the hatred between Hamas and Israel cannot be resolved by a summit. Without substantial concessions and long-term arrangements, no matter how big the negotiating table is, it will not be enough to sit still.

And the most helpless in this seemingly cloudy situation are the ordinary Palestinians who live between the ruins and the line of fire.They don¡¯t care who opened the champagne, only want to know if they can get out alive tomorrow.

From the release of hostages to negotiations, to Trump¡¯s high-profile debut, this round of operations, peace is not only a step closer, but rather a few uncertainties. Champagne can be opened, but the cup of peace, I am afraid, is still far from well. and the real question is, who can stop this conflict? who can make the Palestinian people, really have their own future?

References:

Trump says "the war in Gaza is over"-2025-10-13 16: 32 ¡¤ CCTV News

Hamas has released all surviving Israeli detainees ¨C 2025-10-13 15:57