Ceasefire in Gaza: What We Know
After over a year of Israeli bombardment on Gaza and other parts of Palestine, a ceasefire agreement has finally been confirmed. Going into effect on Sunday 19 January, all violence must come to an end. While many [rightfully] celebrate a halt in the near 15-month devastation, many are reserving taking a sigh of relief knowing that Israel has rarely been one to respect a ceasefire.
[As of 16 January 2025]
With only a couple of days until the ceasefire officially goes into effect, Israel has not shown restraint. Rather, there are reports that they are intensifying their attacks. The death toll is reported to be over 40,000 with hundreds of thousands injured. There are no universities left in Gaza. Hospitals, schools, and homes have been destroyed. Entire bloodlines have been wiped out. Even with the ceasefire agreement, there is no undoing the level of violence Israel was allowed to commit onto Palestinians.
The deal itself has been critiqued by analysts as being rather vague. On its face, it includes these terms:
First Phase includes a release of Israeli hostages over the age of 50 including women and children, a release of a ‘large’ number of Palestinian prisoners, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza population centers, and Israel to permit wounded Palestinians to leave Gaza for treatment.
Second phase includes a release of the remaining Israeli hostages in return for more Palestinians to be released from prison. This would also initiate Israel’s total withdrawal from Gaza.
The third and final phase includes the release of any remaining hostages’ bodies in return for a 3-5 year reconstruction plan.
The ceasefire depends on how well each phase is met. One of the main conditions is an increase in aid to Gaza and other parts of Palestine. The entire premise of a ceasefire is that all fighting stops. Even with the announcement of the pending halt, Israel has continued its assault, carrying out attacks in Jenin and other parts of the West Bank. Many Palestinians fear that the assaults will increase before the ceasefire goes into effect.
What is exceptionally frustrating is the credit the Biden administration is taking for this. The same administration that repeatedly vetoed UN resolutions on a ceasefire, maintained their stance that Israel has a “right to defend themselves,” provided the Israeli government with billions of dollars, and declared that they would not adhere to the ICC arrest on Benjamin Netanyahu. It is incomprehensible for the U.S. government to receive any praise for this when they had such a direct role in the ongoing genocide. What has happened in Gaza is a result of America’s political and financial support.
This genocide did not have to happen. It was not an inevitable occurrence. Israel has been terrorizing Palestine since its inception and while a ceasefire is something to celebrate, it is just a start. There is no going back from genocide. Palestine must be fully liberated from Israel. Israel has accepted this ceasefire deal that was also proposed last year. The terms have not changed, but the climate has. The world has seen Israel’s actions as barbaric and unjustifiable. Zionism is falling, and Israel only has themselves to blame. Their soldiers have proudly shown off their war crimes. Images of IOF soldiers wearing the undergarments of Palestinian women displayed the sinister ‘fun’ they were having in killing and displacing people. There was no turning back from watching people burn alive in a hospital after Israeli strikes or watching lifeless bodies pulled from rubble. The zionist worked to dehumanize Palestinians in hopes that people would look away but their mission failed.
