The Western press commented this morning on the conflict in the Gaza Strip and, in particular, whether the US-brokered truce has any chance of lasting much longer, writes BTA.
The magazine "Politico" quotes Ami Ayalon - former head of the Israeli security service Shin Bet and part of those "intelligence chiefs who, since the founding of the state, have borne the enormous responsibility for its security, defending it against hostile Arab neighbors and Palestinian groups," the magazine writes. It added that Ayalon was pessimistic about the prospects for US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza.
"The biggest hole in the truce is the lack of a clear commitment to the two-state solution - the only path to a negotiated settlement," Ayalon said. According to him, the lack of a clear political horizon for a Palestinian state would mean a refusal to cooperate. Ayalon added to the publication that "peace will prove difficult to achieve".
"Without the Palestinians directly governing Gaza, as envisaged in the French-Saudi and Egyptian initiatives, the chances of "Hamas" disarming are negligible," he said.
"We have to ask ourselves: what is "Hamas"? "It's a radical Muslim organization with a military wing," the former spy explains.
"Because "Hamas" is a combination of ideology and military power, the idea of a total victory is absurd," he believes. "Yes, you can defeat the military wing on the battlefield, but you can't defeat its ideology with military power," he adds. According to him, to "defeat an ideology, you need "better ideas.".
The two-state solution - that is, an independent, sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel - is the better idea for countering "Hamas".
At the same time, the British newspaper "The Guardian" reports on the famous Palestinian writer Nasser Abu Srour, who was released from an Israeli prison last month after 32 years behind bars. The publication quotes the author as saying that violence in Israeli prisons has increased in the past two years and "Israel's attitude in prisons is the same as on the battlefield in Gaza".
Nasser Abu Srour, whose memoirs from prison have been translated into seven languages and are expected to win a major international literary prize this month, was among more than 150 Palestinians serving life sentences who were released as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and immediately sent into exile in Egypt, the British newspaper explains.
Abu Srour, 56, tells of a sharp increase in beatings and food deprivation since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
"The uniforms of the prison guards changed, with the words "fighters" appearing on their chests or "warriors", and they started behaving as if they were at war and this was another front, and they started beating, torturing and killing," he told the "Guardian".
The newspaper also adds statistics from a UN commission that recorded 75 deaths of Palestinians in Israeli custody between October 7, 2023, and August 31, 2025. Israeli prison services have repeatedly denied reports of torture in prisons.
In a telephone conversation from Egypt, Abu Srour also described the "staggering shock" from the brutal conditions of the Israeli prison to a five-star hotel in Cairo as guests of the Egyptian authorities.
At the same time, American publications are paying attention to the conflict from the perspective of the previously fabricated mayoral elections in New York, in which the winner was the democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who is a Muslim.
According to the "Washington Post" Mamdani's victory was the result of a "groundbreaking campaign that resonated globally among left-wing politicians and activists, drew particular attention in parts of the world where Mamdani has roots, and drew criticism in countries he has criticized, including Israel."
He accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but at the same time recognizes Israel's right to exist.
"However, I will not recognize the right of any state to exist with a system of hierarchy based on race or religion," he said. The newspaper added that Mamdani met with Jewish leaders in New York, visited synagogues during his campaign, and promised to address the city's growing anti-Semitism.
The Washington Post also highlighted that Mamdani called for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu if he arrived in New York, as ordered by the International Criminal Court.
The New York Times reported that the body of the last and youngest American hostage held in Gaza was returned to Israel yesterday.
"The remains of Itai Chen, a young American held hostage by Hamas at just 19 years old, have finally been returned home," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday.
"Every family of the dead hostages deserves at least that," Itai's mother said, pledging to continue fighting for the return of the bodies.
According to the New York Times, her statement echoed sentiments expressed on Monday by Orna Neutra, the mother of New York-born Omer Neutra. Like Itai Chen, he had dual Israeli-American citizenship and was serving in the Israeli army when he was killed and his body was taken to Gaza. His remains were returned to Israel earlier this week, and a vigil was held in his memory on Monday.