When a “ceasefire” was declared in Gaza on October 10, many Palestinians breathed a sigh of relief. They had just endured two years of continuous bombing, estimated to be about six times the explosive force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, concentrated on an area less than half the size of a Japanese city.
The misery was all-encompassing. All hospitals and universities were bombed, most homes and schools were destroyed, and critical infrastructure such as sewage systems and power lines were damaged beyond repair. An estimated 50 million tons of rubble littered the area, with the bodies of at least 10,000 Palestinians killed in shelling still unrecovered.
But the respite that Gazans had hoped would eventually come did not materialize. Almost immediately after the “ceasefire” was announced, the Israeli regime began bombing the Strip again. Since then, it hasn’t stopped.
According to the Gaza government media office, Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 500 times in 44 days, killing 342 civilians. The deadliest day was October 29, when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed 109 Palestinians, including 52 children. Most recently, on Thursday, 32 Palestinians, including an entire family, were killed when a bomb was dropped on a building they were sheltering in in Gaza City’s Zeitoun district.
But it’s not just the shelling that won’t stop. Nor is hunger.
According to the “ceasefire” agreement, 600 aid trucks were to be allowed into the country each day, but Israel has not honored it. As Al Jazeera correspondent Hind al-Khudari reported from Gaza, IOF is only allowing 150 trucks to pass into the Gaza Strip per day. It also prevents access to nutritious foods such as meat, dairy and vegetables, as well as much-needed medical supplies, tents and other shelter materials.
The Coalition of Palestine Relief Agencies estimates that current aid does not meet even a quarter of the population’s basic needs.
The United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) says it has enough food in warehouses to feed everyone in Gaza for months, but it is still not allowed to bring in that food. This is in direct contradiction to the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion in October, which stated that the Israeli regime has an obligation not to interfere with the provision of aid by UN agencies, including UNRWA.
The court also rejected Israeli accusations that the agency lacked neutrality, arguing that it is an essential actor in humanitarian situations. Nevertheless, the Israeli regime continues to restrict UNRWA’s activities by rejecting the advisory opinion, blocking the distribution of aid, and denying visas to international staff.
The Israeli regime has also failed to comply with the interim measures set out in the January 2024 ICJ judgment that found plausible acts of genocide in Gaza. These measures included preventing acts of genocide, preventing and punishing incitement to genocide, and authorizing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Since then, the court has reaffirmed the interim measures several times. The Israeli regime continues to ignore them.
And that’s because it continues to enjoy unprecedented diplomatic, financial and military support at the international level. Its latest iteration came on November 17, when the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2803, endorsing US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.
Among its provisions is the creation of two institutions to take control of Gaza. They are a peace commission, chaired by Trump himself, and an international stabilization force tasked with maintaining security and enforcing the disarmament of Palestinian groups. Although the governance structure of both institutions remains unclear, they will operate in conjunction with the Israeli regime, effectively installing a new layer of foreign control over the Palestinian people.
The resolution also allows for the bypassing of existing national and international organizations in the distribution of aid. It makes no mention of genocide and does not propose a mechanism for accountability for war crimes. In essence, this resolution violates international law and gives control of Gaza to the United States, an accomplice in genocide.
All of this makes clear the fact that the “ceasefire” is not a ceasefire at all. The Israeli regime continues to attack Gaza in order to starve the Palestinian population and deny them access to adequate shelter and medical care.
By calling this arrangement a ceasefire, third countries can claim progress in resolving the conflict, or even peace, even when the core reality of the massacre of Palestinians on the ground remains largely unchanged. The “ceasefire” is a diplomatic sham, a cover for the continued extermination, forced displacement and obliteration of Palestinians in Gaza, and a distraction from international public opinion and the media.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.
