How the Trump-brokered Gaza Peace Deal Can Be Made to Work

/7 min read
Hostage to hope
How the Trump-brokered Gaza Peace Deal Can Be Made to Work
Palestinians celebrate news of the ceasefire deal in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, October 9, 2025 (Photo: AFP)  

AS WE HOLD OUR BREATH, hoping that the White House-brokered deal to halt the war and release the hostages will be successfully implemented, there remains one issue that cannot be ignored. The international media, many international outlets, along with loud protesters in the capitals worldwide, is accusing Israel of genocide. For Jews, who endured the Holocaust in Europe under Nazi Germany—when six million were systematically murdered—such an accusation is especially difficult to bear. Genocide is not a charge made lightly. By definition, it refers to the deliberate at­tempt to annihilate a people on the basis of their ethnicity. When a few of my Indian friends accused Israel of genocide, I felt that I must react. Many people conflate the tragic act of killing civilians with the legal and moral crime of genocide. In recent years, even India has faced repeated baseless accusations of genocide—from both within its borders, in relation to its Muslim population, and from Pakistan during Operation Sindoor when the Indian military was accused of deliberately targeting civilians, including women and children. Among the accusers was Al Jazeera, the Qatari state-backed outlet (often criticised as a Qatari propaganda channel).