On January 15, Hamas and Israel reached a long-awaited ceasefire agreement. The agreement details three phases during a six-week period of no violence. The first phase entails a staggered hostage deal, in which 33 Israeli hostages are released in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian hostages. This phase started this past Sunday, with 3 Israelis being released to their homes, along with 91 Palestinians. There are currently fears that this staggered release schedule could lead to a failure to release all Israeli hostages due to ongoing political turmoil.
The upcoming phases of the ceasefire are set to include release of more military hostages, deliberation over a potential permanent ceasefire, complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the return of dead bodies.
West Bank celebrations of the announcement of ceasefire deal. The New York Times
In the days and hours leading up to the ceasefire going in to effect, Israel has launched several strikes and continued military operations in Gaza. As the deal's implementation was delayed, Israel used the hours leading up to it to continue to lanch air strikes. According to Gaza's Civil Defense, at least 19 Palestinian civilians were killed in the attack on Sunday, with 36 others wounded. On the other side, Israel's military claimed to have been aiming at "terror targets".
There are hopes that this ceasefire will spell an end to the Israel-Hamas war which has been ongoing for over two years now, with peace talks going on for the past 15 months. However, considering there are limited terms within the agreement to address concerns from either side, it seems likely that the war is far from over. The main impetus of the war -- leadership in Palestine -- remains unresolved and there is nothing in the ceasefire concerning this issue. Palestinians themselves remain divided over who they want to lead them, as the government of Israel has repeatedly refused any of the proposed options of leadership in Palestine. Currently, judging from contentious statements made by Israel Prime Minster Netanyahu, it appears that Israel “does not want to end the war, and Hamas, too, intends to continue its military struggle and rearm,” according to Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy, a Washington research institute. Yet, as a low estimate of the war's death toll currently sits at around 47,000, with roughly 90% of Gaza's population being displaced, a permanent solution is direly needed.
Though the future remains nebulous, the current focus of the UN and other countries involved in the war is finally getting the opportunity to "surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians," as explained in a statement made by previous President Joe Biden. This aid will include food, medicine, and other essential supplies and aims to help those living in the war zone.
Hundreds of aid trucks waiting to cross the border into Gaza. Reuters
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3 comments:
Ceasefire is good. People will not die unnecessarily anymore. Entities can now also acknowledge each others' coexistence and can now (hopefully) treat the other side like humans rather than mosquitos or ferrets (mosquitos are an annoyance and many kill them with anger like me, and ferrets are unfortunately the go-to creature for biology students to raise and then kill).
Yet as you mention Janak, tensions are still high. It's not as if both sides are on good terms -- far from it. It's not as if the world is breathing a sigh of relief -- the war in Ukraine is still going on (which I've most definitely forgot about at some points), Israel and Hamas still hate each other and would oblige in killing the enemy given the chance, and many low-level conflicts (see: List of African Coups) still are ongoing throughout the world.
As such, although much remains to be done, a ceasefire is a good first step. Not a particularly timely one -- a ceasefire most likely could've been agreed to 6 or 12 months prior, but still a step to be recognized and not dismissed into the wind.
This ceasefire seems as fragile as glass, ready to break at any moment. The way hostages are slowly being released and the airstrikes that appear to continue despite a ceasefire make me highly doubt great success will come. It seems that peace talks are only for show as violence seems to continue to persist. What surprises me is the lack of focus on resolving the deeper conflict. For example, leadership conflicts may only continue to create more issues and add to the already poor situation. Without addressing these causes, this ceasefire seems like it may be like a pause on a cycle of violence rather than the end. Though humanitarian aid is crucial to aiding those who are impacted, I don’t see how it can replace a long-term solution that addresses political conflicts.
To add on to what Aiden has said the history of the region shows that this ceasefire isn't going to last forever. In order for there to truly be peace in the region both parties need to learn to coexist, which is a tall order to ask Israel and Palestine, which have been at on and off war since Israel's inception. This is why I believe that this ceasefire isn't going to last. Just saying there is peace doesn't guarantee peace, and conflict can ignite at any moment once again. Lets just hope that I am wrong and Israel and its enemies can come to a permanent peaceful solution.
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