Israel-Palestinian conflict: Aid arrives in Gaza as ceasefire holds

 




 

After 11 days airstrikes on and rocket attacks from Gaza, Israel and Hamas agreed to an Egypt-mediated ceasefire on Thursday night. The truce appears to be holding on Friday with Palestinians taking out celebratory gatherings across the occupied territories and Israel removing the emergency restrictions in areas hit by rockets. Both sides have warned that the ceasefire would hold based on the ground circumstances.

 

Israel and Hamas both claimed victory on Friday after their forces ended 11 days of fighting, but humanitarian officials warned that the damage to Gaza would take years to rebuild.

 The White House said Washington had received assurances from the relevant parties that they were committed to the ceasefire.

 

World Health Organization spokeswoman Margaret Harris said Gaza’s health facilities were in danger of being overwhelmed by the thousands of injuries.

 

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that aid would be sent quickly to Gaza, but coordinated with the Palestinian Authority - Hamas's Western-backed rival in the occupied West Bank - "in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal".

 


What led to the ceasefire?

 

Unlike in 2014, when the last major fighting between Israel and Hamas occurred, the Israeli troops were wary of launching a ground invasion this time.

 In a ground attack, Israel could inflict more damage on Hamas, but the risk of losing Israeli soldiers would also be high.

This time, the focus of Israel’s military campaign, which started on May 10, was on leaving maximum damage to Hamas’s militant infrastructure through airstrikes.

 In the first 10 days of the fighting, Israel carried out more than 1,800 airstrikes on Gaza, according to the UN.

But one issue with offensives that are heavily focused on air power is that they need a quicker exit strategy.

Airstrikes will leave disproportionate civilian casualties. And disproportionate airstrikes, which was Israel’s strategy, will have even greater damage, inviting international pressure.

 

What’s next?

 

Ceasefires can be fragile.

In 2014, after the ceasefire was announced, Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas’s shadowy military commander Mohammed Deif, but failed.

 It was followed by more rocket attacks.

This time, too, the truce is tenuous.

 Hamas says it accepted truce after Israel promised “to lift their hands off Sheikh Jarrah (where Palestinians face eviction from their houses) and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli side has denied any such promise and emphasised that the ceasefire was unconditional.

Israel has already removed some restrictions it had imposed on Al-Aqsa, which it says was a temporary security measure and Hamas could take credit for the same. But Sheikh Jarrah is a more complicated matter.

 The Supreme Court of Israel is supposed to give a final ruling on the eviction of Palestinians in the neighbourhood.

 If Israel goes ahead with the eviction process, there could be more protests and violence.

 Israeli leaders say there won’t be lasting peace as long as Hamas has rockets. Hamas says there will be rockets as long as the occupation continues.