Nerve primers are the backbone of this publication. Upon completing a primer, a reader should feel confident enough to discuss the topic and informed enough to pursue the category in greater depth. Primers are updated daily.
What changed this update:
- Hamas said it accepts parts of President Trump’s ceasefire and hostage-release plan and is ready to negotiate the rest. Trump publicly urged Israel to halt bombing to enable a hostage handoff while talks proceed.
Current Situation On The Ground
The United States, under the stewardship of Donald Trump and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, has successfully brought both Hamas and Israel back to the negotiating table with their 20-point peace plan, which the parties have now agreed to in spirit, if not yet entirely in letter.
Nerve’s Editorial Stance
The US–Israel relationship has distracted American foreign policy, harmed Palestinians’ human rights, and corroded Israeli civic morality. In tragic historical irony, Israel’s campaign in Gaza now amounts to genocide, while Hamas initiated a war it could not win, targeted civilians for capture, and lost allies. The US has enabled ongoing war crimes, which stains US credibility and drains leverage on core American interests. It is therefore a welcoming reversal in policy for President Trump to announce an ardent pursuit of peace and Nerve News believes both belligerent parties are now obligated to work towards that peace.
In this primer
A sourced picture of the war’s drivers, red lines, and developing leverage points so that readers can get a grasp of the situation without combing through two years of headlines.
Key Players
- Israel: seeks to destroy Hamas’s military capability and maintain security control that prevents Oct-7-style attacks. Domestic politics and hostage families push in opposite directions.
- Hamas: initiated the war October 7, 2023 through mass killings and abductions in Israel, now bargaining hostages for concessions while rejecting disarmament without full Israeli withdrawal.
- United States: principal arms supplier and diplomatic shield for Israel; holds decisive leverage via financing, munitions flow, and U.N. votes.
- Egypt, Turkey, & Qatar: core mediators for ceasefires and exchanges; control border access and political channels to Hamas.
- United Nations: the ICJ ordered Israel to prevent genocide and enable aid; the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders over alleged international crimes.
America’s Undeniable and Unexercised Leverage
The United States provides billions in structured financing to the Jewish state through 10-year Memoranda of Understanding (MOU). The current MOU, which runs through FY2028, is slated to deliver a total of $38 billion to the Israelis and largely as military financing grants.
- 25% Offshore Procurement (OSP): A special provision found solely in the MOU between the United States and Israel, wholly unique to their relationship and enjoyed by no other nation. The OSP allows the Israeli government to take a quarter of this allotment and, rather than purchasing arms from American contractors and developers, investing it in their own industries. Essentially, it’s a subsidy from the American taxpayer to the Israeli arms manufacturer.
The United States is responsible for about two-thirds of Israel’s arms imports and has repeatedly provided cover to the regime in the form of strategic UN vetoes.
Timeline of Events:
- Oct 7, 2023: Hamas attacks. 1,200 people die on the day of the attack in Israel and Hamas abducts 251 hostages and returns them to the Palestinian side of the border. Israel launches a full-scale war in Gaza.
- Jan 26, 2024
- Mar 25, 2024
- Nov 21, 2024
- Jun 4, 2025
