JERUSALEM, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- On Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, the latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict erupted.

In response, Israel has been waging a large-scale offensive in the Gaza Strip, devastating the coastal territory, causing numerous civilian casualties and worsening the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the gruesome conflict, with people around the world wondering when peace might return to the long-troubled territory.

STATUS QUO IN GAZA

Before the conflict, Gaza had a population of about 2.3 million. Over the past two years, a total of 67,074 Palestinians have been killed and 169,430 wounded in Gaza, the Gaza-based health authorities said Saturday.

Mohammed Abdel-Al, a surgeon at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, told Xinhua that dozens of wounded people arrive daily, while medical resources remain insufficient. "Hospitals are already operating far beyond capacity, and for us, a truce is a matter of life or death," he said.

According to a recent report released by the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 42,000 people in the Gaza Strip are living with life-changing injuries as a result of the ongoing conflict, one in four of them children.

More than 5,000 have undergone amputations, the WHO said. The report documents widespread severe injuries, including damage to limbs, spinal cord, brain, and major burns, creating a massive demand for specialized surgical and rehabilitation services. Many families face long-term struggles as patients require intensive care.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned in August that more than half a million Gazans are facing famine conditions marked by starvation and preventable deaths, marking the first officially declared famine in the Middle East since the IPC's establishment.

ANY CHANGES FOLLOWING PEACE PLAN?

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sept. 29 that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a 20-point plan proposed by Washington to end the conflict in Gaza, following their talks at the White House. On Friday, Hamas announced that it agreed in principle to release all Israeli hostages, both living and dead, under the exchange framework outlined in the plan. The group said it was ready for immediate negotiations through mediators on implementation details.

Soon afterwards, Trump demanded that Israel immediately stop bombing Gaza. In response, Israel said it has halted all military offensive operations aimed at capturing Gaza City, shifting its forces to defensive operations only. However, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the IDF forces are still encircling Gaza City, and "returning to it is extremely dangerous."

Mohammed Abu Rayala, a 46-year-old resident of Gaza City, told Xinhua that people no longer trust ceasefire declarations. "We hear about understandings and truces, but the planes never leave the sky and shells fall all night," he said. "Our hope is that the fighting will stop, so we can begin rebuilding. But for two years, every time hope appears, everything collapses again."

Egypt, one of the key mediators in the conflict, said it will host Israeli and Hamas delegations on Monday to discuss "field conditions and details" for the exchange of "all Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners" under the recent U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

On Saturday, Trump posted on social media that Israel has agreed to an initial withdrawal line in Gaza, which has been shown to Hamas. According to the analysis conducted by the Times of Israel, the line shows Israel's approximate lines of control in the Strip prior to the major Gaza City offensive, which began last month. At that stage, the IDF held some 70 percent of Gaza's territory. The plan would leave the IDF in control of large areas in the north and parts of Rafah and Khan Younis in the south.

However, just hours after Trump's post, Palestine's official news agency WAFA reported that the Israeli army continued its bombardment across various areas of the Gaza Strip, including some neighborhoods in Gaza City. According to the latest IDF estimates quoted by the Times of Israel, some 900,000 residents have already fled Gaza City, previously home to about 1 million people.

UNCERTAIN PROSPECTS FOR PEACE

According to the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, Trump's approach to securing a Gaza deal reflects his broader dealmaking style, which appears to involve declaring a deal accepted even before both sides reach an agreement -- a strategy intended to keep negotiations moving forward.

Some Middle Eastern media reported that while Hamas expressed willingness to negotiate under the 20-point plan, it did not unconditionally accept the proposal. For instance, the statement made no mention of the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip -- key Israeli demands included in Trump's proposal.

Bao Chengzhang, an associate professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, said that Israel and Hamas remain uncompromising on core issues. Israel insists on Hamas' disarmament and the "de-Hamasification" of the future Gaza governance, while Hamas demands Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza and refuses to disarm.

Bao added that the Trump administration, mediating the conflict, has shown bias toward Israel while rushing to reach an agreement. This suggests that even if signs of a ceasefire and calls for peace emerge in Gaza, the root causes of the latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are unlikely to be resolved in the short term.

Li Zixin, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said that the 20-point plan has garnered only conditional agreement from Israel and Hamas. "All parties are maintaining the appearance of having reached an agreement, but lasting peace in Gaza remains a distant prospect," Li said.

Palestinian political analyst Hussam Al-Dajani said the plan could open a "genuine window" toward a long-term truce. However, the most crucial step will be in its implementation -- ensuring the plan moves beyond political promises to concrete actions that end civilian suffering and restore hope for normal life in Gaza, he said. Enditem