The initial phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is nearing its conclusion today, yet discussions concerning the subsequent stage, aimed at establishing a lasting truce, have yet to yield positive results.
This ceasefire initiated on January 19, following more than 15 months of conflict triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the deadliest incident in the nation’s history.
During the first six-week phase, Gaza militants released 25 living hostages and returned the remains of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
The anticipated second phase of the tenuous truce was meant to facilitate the release of several hostages remaining in Gaza and to lay the groundwork for a more enduring cessation of hostilities.
Palestinians in Khan Younis are attempting to clear rubble to celebrate Ramadan.
However, this morning, there was no indication of an agreement, and Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem stated that the group opposed “the extension of the first phase in the conditions proposed by the occupation (Israel).”
He urged mediators “to compel the occupation to adhere to the agreement in all its stages.”
Max Rodenbeck from the International Crisis Group think tank remarked that the commencement of the second phase cannot be expected to happen immediately.
“But I don’t believe the ceasefire will collapse either,” he noted.
Ceasefire ‘must hold’
Israel’s preferred approach, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz, is to release more hostages through an extension of the first phase rather than advancing to a second phase.
A Palestinian source involved in the discussions informed AFP that Israel had suggested extending the first phase in successive weekly increments, with the intent of conducting hostage-prisoner exchanges each week, a proposal that Hamas has turned down.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s assault, 58 remain in Gaza, 34 of whom the Israeli military asserts are deceased.
Hamas has, in turn, been advocating strongly for the second phase to commence, especially after incurring significant losses amidst the brutal conflict.
A Palestinian child seeks shelter amid rubble in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated yesterday that the Israel-Hamas ceasefire “must hold.”
“The coming days are crucial. The parties must exert every effort to prevent a collapse of this agreement,” Mr. Guterres emphasized in New York.
The truce has allowed increased humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, where according to the United Nations, over 69% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, nearly the entire populace has been displaced, and widespread hunger has emerged due to the warfare.
The Gaza conflict commenced with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,218 individuals, primarily civilians, based on an AFP tally of official data.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes have resulted in the deaths of 48,388 people in Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, as reported by the territory’s health ministry, a figure that the UN has deemed credible.
‘Nothing but God’s mercy’
Today marks the beginning of Ramadan for both Gaza and much of the Muslim world, during which adherents observe a fast from dawn until dusk.
Within the debris of Gaza’s war-ravaged neighborhoods, traditional Ramadan lanterns are hung, and people engage in nightly prayers on the eve of the holy month.
“Ramadan has arrived this year, and we find ourselves on the streets with no shelter, no employment, no finances, nothing,” lamented Ali Rajih, a resident of the severely impacted Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.
“My eight children and I are left homeless, living on the streets of Jabalia camp, with nothing but God’s mercy.”
Despite the ceasefire largely holding, there have been several Israeli airstrikes.
The Israeli military claimed yesterday to have targeted two “suspects” approaching its troops in southern Gaza, where a hospital reported receiving one body as a result of the strike.
In exchange for the release of hostages held in Gaza, Israel has freed nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners from its facilities.
Additionally, Gaza militants released five Thai hostages outside the terms agreed upon in the ceasefire.
Yesterday, the United States announced it has approved the sale of over $3 billion in munitions, bulldozers, and related equipment to its ally Israel.
This comes in the wake of a significant military operation initiated by Israel in the occupied West Bank on February 21, two days following the commencement of the Gaza ceasefire.
During this operation, the military has demolished numerous homes, and an AFP journalist witnessed an Israeli excavator destroying a house in the largely depopulated Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
According to the UN, at least 55 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have lost their lives in this operation, which has displaced over 40,000 Palestinians.
