Donald Trump called it “potentially one of the great days ever in civilization.”

Even for a president known for hyperbole, this was setting expectations absurdly high for his new 20-point peace plan for Gaza.

But this is an administration that often treats announcements as world-changing breakthroughs. It’s only got one peacemaking play — expressing extreme optimism designed to bounce rival parties into an agreement.

Still, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is so horrific, and the plight of remaining hostages held by Hamas following the October 7, 2023, terror attacks is so dire, that any hope for ending agonizing human misery should be eagerly grasped.

Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, in Nuseirat, central Gaza on Sunday, September 28. Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

Trump’s new plan does appear to be the administration’s most substantive, thoughtful and broadly supported effort to end the Gaza war yet. If fully implemented, it in theory offers the promise of a future for Palestinians in the Strip. If it takes hold, it might create space for a process to mediate the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

It’s certainly more realistic than Trump’s previous wild vision of a “Riviera of the Middle East” arising from the rubble of Israel’s onslaught. And its step-by-step approach likely to last many months acknowledges that such a vicious conflict can’t be ended by the kind of shallow, art-of-the-deal trade-offs in which Trump dealt as a real estate mogul.

Trump did forge progress in getting Netanyahu to publicly sign up for a plan that bore clear hallmarks of his recent meetings with top Arab and Muslim leaders.

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