After more than a year of relentless attacks and tens of thousands of deaths, Israel and Hamas have finally agreed to a deal that includes a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages.
But until now, Israel had ignored the international community in its decimation of the territory, so Palestinians and humanitarians are expressing cautious optimism that the military will keep its promises in the agreement.
There is deep skepticism and caution as a humanitarian, “but if the bombing stops even for a bit I’m elated,” Dr. John Kahler, MedGlobal’s co-founder who has provided medical aid in Gaza, told HuffPost.
The agreement came 15 months after Hamas militants launched an attack in Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage, roughly half of whom are estimated to still be in captivity. Since that attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces, largely armed by the U.S., have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians and reduced most of the Gaza Strip to rubble ― a military campaign that leading human rights groups and United Nations experts have labeled a genocide.
The deal is “a crucial step toward reducing the killing of Palestinians through deadly force,” the Palestinian Al-Mezan Center said. “However, the ceasefire alone will not the ongoing genocide that Israel is perpetrating against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
“What is required is for Israel to end all ongoing genocidal acts, open Gaza, and for the international community to ensure accountability for those responsible.”
The Gaza Media Office warned residents on Telegram to show “complete vigilance and the utmost caution” when it comes to the Israeli military, which has escalated attacks before when a ceasefire and hostage deal appeared close. Since early Tuesday, during negotiations, the Gaza Health Ministry reported at least 57 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, all while the region’s rainy winter continues to affect 1.9 million displaced Palestinians.
“There’s no confined rooms where patients can be treated,” Dr. Sayed Sayeed, who recently returned to the U.S. from providing medical aid in Gaza, said earlier this month. “The anti-sepsis measures that we can take are extremely limited. Antibiotics are limited, dressings are limited, to the point where sometimes I would examine patients with one glove because there is a limitation on gloves.”
The skepticism from Gaza also comes from seeing how November’s ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah has played out in Lebanon. Both the Lebanese government and the U.N. peacekeeping forces in the country’s southern region have accused Israel of repeatedly violating the terms of the agreement and listed to the U.N. Security Council more than 800 incidents of Israeli forces attacking the country since the deal was reached.
“A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is a vital first step towards alleviating the current humanitarian catastrophe afflicting civilians in Gaza, but it must be followed by immediate access by the civilian population to objects indispensable to its survival and the facilitation of full, rapid, safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance,” said Anna Gallina, Gaza project lead for the Global Rights Compliance’s starvation and humanitarian crisis division.
“A hallmark of the tactics used by the Israeli Defense Forces in this war has been the deliberate obstruction and restriction of humanitarian aid, coupled with attacks on aid workers and a neglect of the basic tenets of international humanitarian law,” she continued. “As a result, the population of Gaza has experienced an unprecedented scale of civilian casualties, repeated displacement and widespread famine ― it is now vital that all actors persevere with demands to restore basic standards of living in Gaza and lasting peace.”
The Israeli military had blocked most aid routes into Gaza, greatly limiting the humanitarian assistance that could enter the territory and creating uninhabitable conditions that led to the breakdown of social order when trucks did arrive. The military also made it nearly impossible for UNRWA, the U.N. agency responsible for assisting Palestinian refugees, to enter Gaza and distribute necessary aid.
For over a year, humanitarians and experts have warned that rebuilding Gaza will be a long-term project that requires a massive increase in aid and the withdrawal of the occupation. In addition to rebuilding homes that have turned to ash, Palestinians will also need to re-create all the life-sustaining infrastructure Israel destroyed.
“Conditions must be created right now to allow humanitarian organizations to safely carry out their work, quickly reach people wherever they are in Gaza, and massively scale up their operations so we can stem the overwhelming tide of suffering,” CARE global humanitarian director Deepmala Mahla said.
“Today, we honor the memory of the hundreds of humanitarian workers who were killed doing their duty of trying to help those in need and hope that this ceasefire will allow us to adequately address the immense and catastrophic needs.”
Satellite imagery shows that Israel has destroyed 69% of buildings in Gaza, and the U.N. estimates it would take up to 15 years to clear 40 million tons of rubble, as well as unexploded bombs. Since October 2023, Israeli forces have destroyed every single university, as well as 90% of school buildings, according to Doctors Without Borders. Palestinians experiencing malnutrition, especially children, will have to recover over a long-term period due to the health risks that come with quickening the refeeding process.
“This ceasefire will save lives ― but it won’t end the devastation Israel has wrought on the people of Gaza,” the Institute for Middle East Understanding posted on Tuesday.
“Israel has invaded Gaza’s hospitals and destroyed critical infrastructure like sewage facilities, water treatment plants, agricultural land, and more,” the group continued. “Even if the rebuilding of Gaza begins today, Palestinians will suffer from the impact of Israel’s genocide for years to come.”
Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out the U.S.’s proposed “day after” plan for Gaza on Tuesday at the Atlantic Council. The plan includes the international community helping the West-backed Palestinian Authority oversee Gaza’s civil affairs, such as access to water, energy and health care. It also includes an interim security force made of “partner nations” to help ensure “a secure environment for humanitarian and reconstruction efforts.”
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Blinken did not mention that he and the Biden administration repeatedly crossed their own red lines to send billions of dollars worth of military aid to Israel, which used it to destroy Gaza’s water, energy and health care infrastructure in the first place. The administration also disputed human rights groups’ claims that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, despite overwhelming evidence and testimony from aid workers themselves.
“Let’s be clear. President Biden and his failed foreign policy team deserve zero credit for this belated deal,” Nihad Awad, executive director for the Council on American Islamic Relations, said in a statement. “Instead of using U.S. leverage to secure this deal long ago, they spent over a year violating U.S. law and making a mockery of international law by using billions of American taxpayer dollars to fund the Israeli government’s war crimes and depriving the American people of critical services.”