Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza

After the failure of six short-term ceasefires, a permanent ceasefire was announced on Tuesday evening between Hamas and Israel. The ceasefire was the result of the arbitration by Egypt. This brought an end to the seven weeks’ war in Gaza which left more than 2200 Palestinians dead, majority of them citizens and more than 500 children also lost their lives. On the other hand, 66 Israeli soldiers were killed by Hamas fighters while only six Israeli civilians were killed by the rockets fired from Gaza. In Gaza, more than 11000 people were injured while 17000 houses were destroyed or badly damaged. More than 600,000 Palestinians have been displaced, majority of whom are now living in the UN shelters. Schools, hospitals, factories, farms, mosques and infrastructure such as power and water plants were hit. Reconstruction could take up to 10 years, say analysts.

Hamas has termed this to be the victory and celebratory gunfire was heard in the streets of Gaza. Hamas thanked the people of Gaza for their firmness against all the atrocities of Israeli Defense Forces and they did so by the sacrifices of their lives, property and money. On the other hand, Israel has also termed it a ‘mission accomplished’ by destroying the tunnels of Hamas and killing large number of their top leaders and military activists.

But the terms of deal are almost similar to the one that was reached at the end of 2012 conflict. According to the deal, Israel will open its crossings on its border to allow humanitarian aid and construction materials to enter Gaza, and will extend the permitted fishing zone to six miles off the coast of Gaza. The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is also to be opened.

However both the parties have agreed to continue talks so that any such incident should be avoided in future and the conflicting issues should be permanently settled down. Among these are the Hamas’s demand for an airport and seaport in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, and Israel’s insistence on the disarmament of militant groups and the return of the remains of two of its soldiers killed in fighting.

The ceasefire has given a relief for the masses of Gaza who would now return to their homes and start their reconstruction. This war also brought to the world the true and barbaric face of Israel. Now, it becomes the responsibility of the world community to help the population of Gaza to rebuild their houses and other infrastructure. At the same time, more rational efforts should be made to avoid any such conflict in future which is only possible by accepting the rights of Palestinians to have their complete liberty and freedom, both in word and action.