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During the 2014 Gaza War between Israel and Hamas, Jacob Stoil wrote “Why a Gaza Ceasefire is So Difficult” for War on the Rocks, in which he sought to answer one question that was as pressing then as it is now: “Why is a ceasefire [between Israel and Hamas] proving so difficult to attain?” A decade later, as talks on a ceasefire in the current conflict appear deadlocked, we asked him to look back on his article.Read more below.Photo credit: Israel Defense ForcesIn your article, you explore the difficulties of reaching a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in their war in 2014. Amid rumors of an impending ceasefire in the current war in Gaza, how have the situation and the obstacles to a ceasefire changed?The attacks, and more particularly the atrocities, of Oct. 7 changed everything. Israel has tens of thousands of internally displaced persons from border communities who justifiably fear to return home. They are unlikely to return as long as the threats from Hamas and Hizballah remain meters from their communities. Gone are the days where the Israeli public will accept a compromise ceasefire that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza and capable of launching major cross-border attacks. There is little trust of any guarantees of “quiet for quiet” from the Palestinians, nor is there an easy willingness to hand over security to any Palestinian government. This shapes the conditions that will make a long-term ceasefire more difficult. The United States can put pressure on the Israeli government to accept a ceasefire that does not bring Israel the security guarantees it desires. In that case, the government would have to balance its desire for support from the United States against the desires of the Israeli population and potentially the risk that the people exercise their democratic power to stop such