Fighting Has Halted in Gaza, but the War Is Not Over

At the end of a war in Gaza in 2021, Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was photographed sitting in an armchair in his ruined home, a symbol of continuing resistance to Israel.

Mr. Sinwar was killed in this latest Gaza war, in which Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, vowed to dismantle and destroy Hamas. And yet, as a cease-fire took hold on Sunday after 15 months of massive destruction and death, Hamas — badly wounded and diminished — has survived and, at least for now, will remain in charge in Gaza.

Thousands of Hamas fighters have already re-emerged from hiding and fanned out to reestablish control.

“In blunt terms, Hamas are not only still standing, but they remain the most significant force in Gaza,” said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator and president of the U.S./Middle East Project, a research organization based in London and New York.

The situation underlines the fragility of a deal reached with Mr. Netanyahu, who is facing tremendous political pressure at home. It also comes as Donald J. Trump is set to become president again amid great uncertainty over how he plans to deal with a landscape in the Middle East that is much altered since his first term.

And the war is not over. The three-phase cease-fire deal, largely unchanged from a plan President Biden announced eight months ago, is extremely fragile, as evidenced by the tension-filled delay in starting it on Sunday morning. There will be 16 days before talks are expected to begin on the second phase.