After the declaration of a ceasefire by Israel on Gaza, the occupation hasn’t yet terminated its criminal acts against Palestinians and is continuing with its ethnic cleansing plans.
According to Oxford Public International Law, there is no official legal definition of a ceasefire; however, a ceasefire means the suspension of violence and the settlement of an armed conflict. The Israel-Gaza ceasefire took place after both sides agreed not to carry on the war. The decision was made with the involvement of regional and international powers such as Qatar, Egypt, the United States (US), and the United Nations (UN). Although many have celebrated the decision, the weeks following the decision have witnessed severe violent acts against Palestinians. The only difference this time: violence is receiving less media coverage.
Since the ceasefire, Sheikh Jarrah was reported to be illegally blockaded, murders continued to take place, and social media posts and hashtags advocating for Palestine were being censored.
One day after the ceasefire, Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and started attacking Palestinian worshippers with stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets. Additionally, Israeli forces continue to detain Palestinians and assault them. Mai Afana, a 29-year-old Palestinian doctor, was shot dead at the Hezma Israeli checkpoint after the Israeli forces claimed that she was initiating an attack. Earlier that day, the Israeli forces launched a series of airstrikes, hitting certain parts of the Gaza strip.
According to Sari Sabatin, a Palestinian youth activist based in Jordan, violence in Gaza has been ongoing since the ceasefire was declared and this violence can lead to serious consequences.
“When a ceasefire was decided, all the residential towers and the lost lives of children, elders, and youth had created a huge social gap in the society of Gaza,” Sabatin told Kayani.
The UN has reported that the violence that lasted for eleven days before the ceasefire has resulted in the killing of more than 250 Palestinians including 66 children and 39 women. More than 2000 Palestinians were wounded, 33 media institutions and 1800 housing units were destroyed, 5 high-rise buildings in Gaza were damaged, and 91,000 Palestinians were displaced.
Hamas official Khalil al-Haya considered the ceasefire a “euphoria of victory” and has promised to fund reconstructing the houses damaged by Israeli airstrikes and bombs.
However, those who lost their houses have been taking shelter in schools and will suffer further while trying to rebuild what has been destroyed.
“The Israeli occupation didn’t just destroy towers and buildings, it also ruined the stories of the children witnessing the massacres and ended families and altered memories,” Sabatin told Kayani. “Solidarity with Palestine is a message we hold close in our lives to deliver the voices of Palestinians in the occupied land and create a link between them and the Palestinian diaspora.”
The scale of destruction in Gaza needs years of renovation and rehabilitation, and a ceasefire would not fix it. Therefore, the real question remains: How does a ceasefire after 11 days of airstrikes make up 73 years of genocide and massacres?