Bowen: Plan for Hamas to disarm faces big obstacles, yet it offers rare hope for Gaza

On 7 October 2023 Hamas and other Palestinians attacked Israel, killing almost 1,200 people, around two thirds of whom were civilians including children, and taking 251 people into Gaza as hostages.

Hamas concessions are linked to Israel agreeing to pull back in Gaza.

This was how the BBC's Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abu Alouf put it to me: "For months, Hamas increasingly shifted part of its focus back to social and political outreach, expanding Quran memorisation programmes and charitable activities aimed at children, teenagers and young people, while taking advantage of the severe humanitarian crisis and the growing dependence of so many families on aid.