(TNND) — Israel and Hamas still appear far apart in ending their war, even as Israel has agreed in principle to a new ceasefire.

Hamas was reportedly open to a ceasefire but hadn’t agreed to get on board with the deal backed by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Israel agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize a 60-day ceasefire. Trump said his team would use the pause in fighting to work toward an end to the war.

An Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the deal on the table now would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the strip.

The AP reported that the terms of a hostage release with the proposed ceasefire were unknown.

Hamas terrorists took about 250 hostages when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

More than a year and a half later, there are 50 hostages remaining in Hamas custody in Gaza. The majority of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead.

“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal,” Trump said in a social media post. “I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Raphael Cohen, an expert in foreign policy, military strategy and the Middle East at RAND, said Hamas is likely to agree to the ceasefire if they either feel like it cracks the door open for a more lasting end to the fighting or if they fear Trump won’t try and restrain Israeli attacks absent a deal.

“You could imagine a scenario where they feel pressured to give in to this, because the other options are worse,” Cohen said.

He said Hamas will likely offer a counterproposal rather than a flat-out rejection if they don’t agree to the deal.

But Cohen said that Israel and Hamas don’t appear close to agreeing on the shape of actually ending the war.

“The major sticking point has always been that Hamas wants a permanent end to the war,” Cohen said.

Hamas wants Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza so they can retain political power in Gaza.

That’s a nonstarter for Israel, which wants Hamas gone.

“We will eliminate Hamas down to its very foundations,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Wednesday.

Cohen said the success of the ceasefire deal might come down to back-channel talks, which might not mirror what’s being said in public.

But he said Netanyahu can’t sell any peace deal to his coalition that allows Hamas to stay in power.

“That doesn't necessarily mean the death of every last Hamas member, but it certainly means that they give up political power, and that the leaders of Hamas probably exit the strip for good,” Cohen said. “Hamas obviously doesn't want to do that, and therein lies sort of the primary sticking point.”

Cohen said it’s possible Israel would eventually agree to a peace deal in which it pulls back some forces but maintains larger military buffer zones inside Gaza.

But Hamas would need to relinquish power, which begs the question of who would then govern the strip.

Cohen said it could be any number of entities, from a local Palestinian group to a mixture of peacekeeping forces from other Arab countries. But Israel is sure to insist that whoever that is cracks down on any remaining Hamas cells in Gaza.

Cohen said Israel has a considerably stronger hand today than it did before Hamas attacked.

And he said Israel’s successes in the 12-day war against Iran probably don’t change the dynamics between Israel and Hamas much, if at all.

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Israelis had already done a good job of interrupting the flow of weaponry and support from Iran to Hamas, Cohen said.

Hamas, a terrorist proxy of Iran, has the same military capacity as it did prior to the Iran strikes, though Israel has made some tactical gains in the intervening weeks, Cohen said.

And the Iran threat hasn’t gone away, so it’s not like Israel can now simply focus all of its attention on Hamas.

“The 12-day war was a success. It was a tactical success. It wasn't a knockout punch to Iran by any means,” Cohen said.