Sophia Besch sits down with Zaha Hassan to discuss the future prospects of Gaza's fragile three-phase ceasefire deal.
After over a year of devastating conflict, Israel and Hamas reached a three-phase ceasefire agreement in January 2025, brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. The deal allowed for significant increases in humanitarian aid deliveries, prisoner and hostage exchanges, and discussions for a potential permanent ceasefire.
This episode was recorded on March 11, ten days after the scheduled completion of Phase 1. Since then, the ceasefire has remained in limbo—Israel is pushing to extend Phase 1, while Hamas wants to advance to Phase 2 negotiations, under which a permanent ceasefire would be established. With talks stalled and a spike in resumed violence on March 18, the road ahead remains uncertain, especially as U.S. policy under President Trump continues to shift.
In this episode, Sophia Besch sits down with Zaha Hassan, a Fellow in Carnegie’s Middle East Program and a human rights lawyer. She previously served as the senior legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team during Palestine’s bid for UN membership and is a regular participant in track II peace efforts. Together, they explore the fragile ceasefire in Gaza—its implications, challenges and delays with implementation, and the evolving role of the United States in the region under President Donald Trump's administration.
Notes:
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
The Iran War marks the second time in two months that Donald Trump decapitated a country without real legal justification. But is this any different from the many times that past U.S. presidents—and other great powers—have violated international law?
Jon Bateman, Oona A. Hathaway
On this special episode of The World Unpacked, Karim and host Jon Bateman go inside Tehran’s power structure as the Islamic Republic faces one of the greatest crises in its 47-year history.
Jon Bateman, Karim Sadjadpour
Daniel Drezner, Professor of International Politics at The Fletcher School at Tufts University is a leading scholar of global politics, makes sense of these dizzying crises on a new episode of The World Unpacked. He joined Jon Bateman to explain why Europe and the U.S. are still so obsessed with each other, whether Trump’s Venezuela playbook could work in Iran, and how Substack has changed foreign policy decision-making.
Jon Bateman, Daniel Drezner
Sarah Chayes, who lived in and studied the world’s most corrupt nations, warns that the U.S. is walking the same path. In this episode of The World Unpacked, Sarah tells host Jon Bateman why systemic corruption looks nothing like how we picture it, how anti-corruption advocates are co-opted as enablers, and what to say if someone asks you for a bribe.
Jon Bateman, Sarah Chayes
Matt Duss, a former advisor to Bernie Sanders, is a leading figure in progressive foreign policy. On this episode of The World Unpacked, Matt lays out a global vision based on solidarity and harm reduction.
Jon Bateman, Matthew Duss
