[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

Israeli cabinet to vote on Gaza ceasefire Friday

As ministers weighed whether to approve the fragile agreement, new Israeli strikes on about 50 targets in Gaza killed dozens of people on Thursday...

www.newagebd.net

Israeli cabinet to vote on Gaza ceasefire Friday
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 17 January, 2025, 04:30

Israel’s cabinet was set to vote Friday on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, an official said, with mediator the United States ‘confident’ the accord would take effect as planned.

As ministers weighed whether to approve the fragile agreement, new Israeli strikes killed dozens of people, Gaza rescuers said Thursday, and Israel’s military reported hitting about 50 targets across the territory over the past day.

At least two cabinet members have voiced opposition to the ceasefire, with far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir saying Thursday that he and his party colleagues would quit the government –– but not the ruling coalition –– if it approved the ‘irresponsible’ deal.

The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would begin on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas on Thursday of reneging ‘on parts of the agreement... to extort last-minute concessions’, and vowed to postpone the cabinet vote until the issues were addressed.

An Israeli official, however, later told AFP that the cabinet would meet Friday to decide on the deal.

Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri said that there was ‘no basis’ for Israel’s accusations.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken, who has been involved in months of mediation efforts, said he believed the ceasefire would go ahead on schedule.

‘I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,’ he said.

The foreign ministry of fellow mediator Egypt said in a statement the ceasefire must ‘start without delay’.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israel pounded several areas of the territory after the deal was announced, killing at least 80 people and wounding hundreds.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, warned that Israeli strikes were risking the lives of hostages due to be freed under the deal, and could turn their ‘freedom... into a tragedy’.

The war began on October 7, 2023 with the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Of the 251 people reportedly held hostage by the Hamas, 94 are reportedly still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,788 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

The ceasefire agreement followed intensified efforts from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States, after months of fruitless negotiations to end the deadliest war in Gaza’s history.

If finalised, it would pause hostilities one day before the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump.

Envoys from both the Trump team and the outgoing administration of president Joe Biden were present at the latest negotiations, with a senior Biden official saying the unlikely pairing had been a decisive factor in reaching the deal.

In Israel and Gaza, there were celebrations welcoming the truce deal, but also anguish.

Saeed Alloush, who lives in north Gaza, said that he and his loved ones were ‘waiting for the truce and were happy’, until overnight strikes killed many of his relatives.

‘It was the happiest night since October 7’ until ‘we received the news of the martyrdom of 40 people from the Alloush family’, he said.

In Tel Aviv, pensioner Simon Patya said that he felt ‘great joy’ that some hostages would return alive, but also ‘great sorrow for those who are returning in bags, and that will be a very strong blow, morally’.

In addition to Ben Gvir, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has also opposed the truce, calling it a ‘dangerous deal’.

Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, announcing the agreement on Wednesday, said an initial 42-day ceasefire would see 33 hostages released, including women, ‘children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded’.

Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza's densely populated areas and allow displaced Palestinians to return ‘to their residences’, he said.

Announcing the deal from the White House, Biden said the second phase of the agreement could bring a ‘permanent end to the war’.

He added the deal would ‘surge much needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families’.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also underscored the ‘importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid’ into Gaza.

Cairo said it was ready to host an international conference on reconstruction in Gaza, where the United Nations has said it would take more than a decade to rebuild civilian infrastructure.

The World Health Organisation’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, said Thursday that at least $10 billion would probably be needed over the next five to seven years to rebuild Gaza’s devastated health system alone.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to start later this month, welcomed the ceasefire deal.

‘What’s needed is rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies to respond to the tremendous suffering caused by this war,’ UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.​

 

[Saif]

Ceasefire: not holding my breath

THE announced ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza is reminiscent of the last days of the Carter administration, a time when American hostages were released with Reagan (and his behind-the-scenes machinations) taking credit for ending the hostage impasse. Be on the look-out for Trump to...

www.newagebd.net

Ceasefire: not holding my breath
Raouf Halaby 16 January, 2025, 22:24

THE announced ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza is reminiscent of the last days of the Carter administration, a time when American hostages were released with Reagan (and his behind-the-scenes machinations) taking credit for ending the hostage impasse. Be on the look-out for Trump to take 95 per cent of the credit.

Between today and the 19th (when full implementation takes place), spoilers on both, the Israeli and Hamas sides, might sabotage the deal. We’ve been there before, ceasefires were agreed to only to be broken, and things have always gone back to status quo ante.

Tragically, Biden could have averted much bloodshed and destruction way when

The realistic side of me says that, unfortunately, while the patient has been resuscitated, it is a temporary band aid solution. The elephant in the room is Israel’s occupation of Gaza and especially the occupied West Bank, a tiny 22 per cent sliver of historic Palestine taken over by some 700,000 Israeli militant settlers whose biblical claims are aided and abetted by America’s End Time Christian Zionists, AIPAC, and their compadres. Just look at Trump’s ambassadorial (think Mike Hucksterbee) and other appointees, each of whom is an avowed supporter of Greater Israel.

In a manner of speaking Donald Trump, and because of his outright kindship to and outright support of Netanyahu, has been handed a golden opportunity. He could, once and for all, help create a Palestinian state that would end 80 years of bloodletting.

Will he see this as a historic moment? Or, will he, in his pro forma transactional handling of myriad events, perceive this to be another real estate deal in which winners take all?

The Palestinian State (Solution) Delusion, promised by successive US presidents, is at the crossroads of a historic moment.

Perhaps the legal maxim ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ has never resonated as it has today.

And, while apathetic world leaders give lip service to justice and peace, the masses of the world hold their breath and pray that billions spent arming the world would be spent to alleviate hunger, drought, global warming, disease, and the many plagues looking on the horizon.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli security cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire deal

The agreement, which must now go to the full cabinet for a final green light, would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza's deadliest-ever war

www.thedailystar.net

Israeli security cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire deal

This handout picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fifth from right, heading a security cabinet meeting to vote on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect on January 19, in Jerusalem on January 17, 2025. Photo: AFP

Israel's security cabinet approved in a vote on Friday a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect this weekend, the prime minister's office said.

The agreement, which must now go to the full cabinet for a final green light, would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza's deadliest-ever war.

It would also launch on Sunday the release of hostages held in the territory since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Under the deal struck by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, the ensuing weeks should also see the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

Israeli strikes have killed dozens of people since the deal was announced. Israel's military said on Thursday it had hit about 50 targets across Gaza over the past day.

The full cabinet will convene later Friday to approve the deal. The ceasefire would take effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as US president.

Saying the proposed deal "supports achieving the objectives of the war", the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the security cabinet recommended that the government approve it.

His office had earlier said the release of hostages would begin on Sunday.

Even before the start of the truce, Gazans displaced by the war to other parts of the territory were preparing to return home.

"I will go to kiss my land," said Nasr al-Gharabli, who fled his home in Gaza City for a camp further south in the territory.

"If I die on my land, it would be better than being here as a displaced person."

In Israel, there was joy but also anguish over the 251 hostages taken in the deadliest attack in the country's history.

Kfir Bibas, whose second birthday falls on Saturday, is the youngest hostage.

Hamas said in November 2023 that Kfir, his four-year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shiri had died in an air strike, but with the Israeli military yet to confirm their deaths, many are clinging to hope.

"I think of them, these two little redheads, and I get shivers," said 70-year-old Osnat Nyska, whose grandchildren attended nursery with the Bibas brothers.

- 'Confident' -

Two far-right ministers had voiced opposition to the deal, with one threatening to quit the cabinet, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believed the ceasefire would go ahead on schedule.

"I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday," he said.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel pounded several areas of the territory, killing more than 100 people and wounding hundreds since the the deal was announced on Wednesday.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, warned that Israeli strikes were risking the lives of hostages due to be freed under the deal, and could turn their "freedom... into a tragedy".

The war began with the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,788 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

- Trump and Biden -

The ceasefire agreement followed intensified efforts from mediators after months of fruitless negotiations, and with Trump's team taking credit for working with US President Joe Biden's administration to seal the deal.

"If we weren't involved in this deal, the deal would've never happened," Trump said in an interview on Thursday.

A senior Biden official said the unlikely pairing had been a decisive factor in reaching the deal.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, announcing the agreement on Wednesday, said an initial 42-day ceasefire would see 33 hostages released, including women, "children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded".

The Israeli authorities assume the 33 are alive, but Hamas has yet to confirm that.

Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza's densely populated areas and allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", he said.

Two sources close to Hamas told AFP three Israeli women soldiers would be the first to be released on Sunday evening.

The women may in fact be civilians, as the militant group refers to all Israelis of military age who have undergone mandatory military service as soldiers.

Once released they would be received by Red Cross staff as well as Egyptian and Qatari teams, one source said on condition of anonymity.

They would then be taken to Egypt where they would undergo medical examinations and then to Israel, the source said.

Israel "is then expected to release the first group of Palestinian prisoners, including several with high sentences", the source added.

Egypt was on Friday hosting technical talks on the implementation of the truce, according to state-linked media.

French President Emmanuel Macron said French-Israeli citizens Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi were on the list of 33 hostages to be freed in the first phase.

Biden said the second phase could bring a "permanent end to the war".

In aid-starved Gaza, where nearly all of its 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once, aid workers worry about the monumental task ahead.

"Everything has been destroyed, children are on the streets, you can't pinpoint just one priority," Doctors Without Borders (MSF) coordinator Amande Bazerolle told AFP.​

 

[Saif]

Can life start again in Gaza?

Gaza faces a fragile ceasefire, yet Palestinian resilience and hopes for liberation persist.

www.thedailystar.net

Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal
Can life start again in Gaza?

People celebrate in central Gaza on January 15, 2025 as news spread that a ceasefire deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas, aimed at ending more than 15 months of war and genocide. PHOTO: AFP

After 467 days of massacre committed by the occupationist state of Israel—under the leadership of the fascist Benjamin Netanyahu—the people of Gaza can now dream of waking up to sounds and smells different from what they have been accustomed to: bombs, drones, gunpowder, and corpses. On January 15, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal that had been on the table since May last year. The next day, however, the Israeli cabinet delayed voting on the deal, accusing Hamas of backtracking although Hamas had accepted the agreement that was announced. It was expected that the deal would come into effect on Sunday, but the cost of the latest delay only means that more Palestinian lives will be lost, as it has been for each and every day that Netanyahu decided to pull out of ceasefire agreements.

Previously, the Biden administration seemed reluctant to apply enough pressure. The answer to the questions "Why now?" and "Why not months ago?" lie in the change of leadership in the US, in my opinion. In December, President-elect Donald Trump warned that if Israeli hostages in Gaza were not released, "it will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out." As I see it, this could not have been done by the outgoing President Joe Biden, as it long eluded his administration. President-elect Trump shares a friendship with Netanyahu, who reveres him. I suspect the delay from Netanyahu's side could also be until Trump takes office on January 20, so his resume will have the ceasefire written on it instead of Biden's.

Netanyahu's extremist cabinet has been against this deal; far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have publicly ranted about how awful the deal is. Now, why would Netanyahu agree on a ceasefire that would cause division in his coalition? (When Ben-Gvir says he will bring down the "government," it essentially means he will quit the coalition.) The political calculus seems to have changed, and it may serve Netanyahu more to accept the deal this time than to reject it. And there could be two reasons for it. First, a trade-off could have been been offered, which could possibly be related to the annexation in the West Bank that Trump supported during his first term. The other possibility could be that Trump asserted that this war was no longer in the best interest of the US, but since he is unpredictable and reactive, Netanyahu, who faces criminal charges but wants to stay in power, would not risk going against the assertive incoming president.

In the end, Netanyahu did not achieve the "absolute victory" he spoke about, unless victory for him means the killing of thousands of children, women and men, destroying more than three quarters of Gaza, and starving its residents to death. The truth is he did not even achieve partial victory. He failed to eliminate Hamas, he failed to free the hostages, and he failed to undermine the resilience of Palestinians.

The ceasefire deal agreed upon also includes exchange of hostages, including Palestinian hostages held in Israeli prisons, and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza in the first phase, which Netanyahu was opposed to. More importantly, the second phase of the deal promises "a permanent end to the war." There remains possibilities that this could be a temporary respite for the citizens of Gaza, and Netanyahu's commitment to the deal will face its biggest test in the second phase. The hope lies in Trump's ability to ensure the success of the deal, though his incoming administration is filled with staunch pro-Israel figures.

But, say, the deal endures, then what awaits the day after the war ends? For Netanyahu, he must face the arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for heinous war crimes. He will have to face the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians, and most importantly, the abject failure to protect Israel's security on October 7, 2023. Israel as a state will have to reckon with genocide committed by its people, and the utter dehumanisation of Palestinians.

For Palestinians in Gaza, the ceasefire deal brings cautious optimism. As it was announced, the people of Gaza celebrated—an unusual sight in the rubble-filled strip. Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir-Al-Balah in Central Gaza, said, "For a couple of hours, people turned this whole area into a stage of celebration, something we are not used to seeing here as the area used to be a stage for funerals for the victims of war and a space filled with agony and sadness." Till the deal comes into effect, Israel will continue to commit massive atrocities, ending lives of innocent people as a reward for Netanyahu's hardline government, which believes a ceasefire to end mass suffering is akin to "surrender." Only when the ceasefire deal will go into effect will there be a sliver of hope that life can start again in the devastated Gaza Strip. But the ceasefire must not be conflated with liberation of the Palestinian people. The life that Palestinians have lived in an "open air prison" in Gaza is one of endless pain and violence committed against them by Israel. The life the whole generation of orphaned children will now live, after the genocide, is one scarred with bloodshed, trauma, and the battle to access basic human rights.

For the Palestinians, we must first be united as one, share our dreams, work together to achieve the hopes of our people, and not allow foreign interference that tries to impose on us solutions that do not meet our ambitions to fully recover our rights. Above all, we must stand by our brothers and sisters in the Gaza Strip to provide them with all the material and moral support we can, to alleviate their suffering and heal their wounds. Families have been wiped out, lives have been uprooted, and for those who survived, their hearts have been permanently broken.

Liberation of Palestinians will only happen the day we have the right to self-determination, the day we are treated as human beings with the right to live the way we want. As Palestinians were killed in their homes, the US and Israel, the perpetrators, talked about who would run the strip. The Biden administration has, for months, been trying to form an international security force that would work alongside an interim Palestinian administration to deal with civilian affairs. The US and Israel do not have the right to determine "who will run the strip." The day the world understands what's wrong with that criminal school of thought, we can start thinking about Palestinian liberation. But the resilience and movements around the world must continue for us to achieve our freedom.

Palestinian lives remain on the line till the ceasefire comes into effect, and rebuilding Gaza will be a task too difficult to put into words. There are many lessons Palestinians have learnt from this war, and things have forever changed after the most brutal war in our history. The world must reflect on the past 15 months of a horrendous genocide that happened in front of our eyes, on our screens, with the support of the powers that be. We must reflect on the biggest failure of humanity in modern times. At the same time, we Palestinians must also thank all those who have stood by our people and provided support in all its forms, most notably the people of Bangladesh.

Yousef SY Ramadan is the ambassador of Palestine to Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

ISRAEL’S HUMANITARIAN OBLIGATIONS TO UN: Bangladesh should participate in ICJ advisory opinion

THE Israeli government’s decision to ban the operations of the UNRWA in the Israeli-claimed territory and prohibit Israeli state agencies from having any contact with it or its representatives in October 2024 resurfaced...

www.newagebd.net

ISRAEL’S HUMANITARIAN OBLIGATIONS TO UN: Bangladesh should participate in ICJ advisory opinion
by Quazi Omar Foysal 18 January, 2025, 00:21

A picture reportedly shows a damaged UNRWA food aid warehouse and distribution centre due to Israeli strikes in Tall al-Hawa neighbourhood in southern Gaza City on October 16, 2023. | Agence France-Presse

THE Israeli government’s decision to ban the operations of the UNRWA in the Israeli-claimed territory and prohibit Israeli state agencies from having any contact with it or its representatives in October 2024 resurfaced the question of Israel’s adherence to international obligations in relation to Palestine and the Palestinian people. This decision, taken by the Knesset, came just three months after the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where the Court held that Israeli policies and practices in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory are unlawful. Accordingly, it was unsurprising that the ICJ would be required to deliberate again on the Palestine/Israel question.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, popularly known as UNRWA, established by the United Nations General Assembly as its subsidiary organ on December 8, 1949, has a mandate covering Palestinians displaced or forced to leave during the Nakba, the 1948 Palestine War, and later conflicts, along with their descendants, including legally adopted children. UNRWA is widely regarded as the backbone of humanitarian aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, providing essential services such as education, healthcare and food assistance to millions of Palestinian refugees.

While the Israeli government has long accused UNRWA of lacking neutrality and being associated with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the issue became highly contentious following the October 7 attacks. Allegations emerged that 19 UNRWA staff were involved in the attacks. Although UNRWA dismissed nine of its employees after an internal investigation, the allegations led to funding cuts by its major donors. Despite a report by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, commissioned by the UN Secretary-General, which found the Israeli evidence insufficient, the crisis remains unresolved. The ban on the operation of the UNRWA, stemming from Israel’s earlier allegations, represents one of the most severe challenges to UNRWA’s mandate.

The Israeli government’s decisions have raised significant questions about Israel’s adherence to its international obligations towards the United Nations under the UN Charter, the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations (1946), and other relevant sources of international law. Given the importance of UNRWA’s work in providing humanitarian assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially amidst the precarious situation exacerbated by the 2023 Hamas-Israel war, Israel’s targeting of its operational capacity through legislation affecting its presence, activities and immunities is a matter of grave concern for the international community.

In disputes involving an international organisation and a state, as illustrated by the present scenario, the ICJ does not have contentious jurisdiction, as it is limited to disputes between states. However, the ICJ can entertain its advisory jurisdiction in such cases. An advisory opinion of the ICJ is a non-binding judicial statement issued in response to a request from a duly authorised United Nations organ or specialised agency concerning a legal question within the scope of their activities. The ICJ has delivered several advisory opinions on the Palestine issue, notably the 2004 Advisory Opinion on the Wall and the 2024 Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

As stated earlier, the request for an advisory opinion must come from a duly authorised UN organ or specialised agency. In the past, the UN General Assembly has frequently made such requests regarding the Palestine question, and this instance was no exception. In response to global protests against the Israeli government’s decision on UNRWA, Norway spearheaded a resolution containing a request for an advisory opinion. Eventually, UNGA Resolution 79/232 was adopted on December 19, 2024, with 137 votes in favour, 12 votes against, and 22 abstentions. The resolution requested an advisory opinion “on a priority basis and with the utmost urgency” due to the evolving ground situation.

The legal question put forward by the UN General Assembly concerns “the obligations of Israel, as an occupying Power and as a member of the United Nations, in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, including its agencies and bodies, other international organisations and third states, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population as well as of basic services and humanitarian and development assistance, for the benefit of the Palestinian civilian population, and in support of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.” The resolution considers this question supplementary to those raised in the 2024 Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Since UNGA Resolution 79/232 requested the advisory opinion “on a priority basis and with the utmost urgency,” the ICJ issued an order on December 23, 2024, setting February 18, 2025, as the deadline for submitting information in the form of written statements from the United Nations, its member states, and the observer State of Palestine. This raises the question of whether Bangladesh should participate in the proceedings by submitting a written statement.

Bangladesh has consistently advocated for the rights of the Palestinian people in various multilateral forums, especially the United Nations. Bangladesh asserts that its position on the Palestinian question is grounded in Article 25 of its Constitution. It has also participated in various judicial forums, including the ICJ and the ICC.

For instance, Bangladesh recently submitted a written statement and participated in the oral proceedings for the 2024 Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Previously, it participated in the oral proceedings for the 2004 Advisory Opinion on the Wall. Furthermore, Bangladesh expressed its intention to intervene in the Gaza genocide case (South Africa vs Israel) on January 14, 2024. Additionally, it referred the Palestine situation to the ICC under Article 14 of the Rome Statute. Given its track record, it is expected that Bangladesh will participate in both written and oral proceedings for the upcoming advisory opinion.

Beyond Bangladesh’s support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, the questions presented to the ICJ should be of particular concern to Bangladesh as one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping forces. Bangladesh should take into account the significant challenges faced by peacekeeping forces in distributing humanitarian aid and undertaking their responsibilities in occupied or war-torn territories. Thus, Bangladesh’s participation would reflect not only its moral stance but also its practical interests.

Given the urgency emphasised in UNGA Resolution 79/232 and the ICJ’s timeline for submitting written statements, Bangladesh must make a prompt decision on this matter. Bangladesh should seize this solemn opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to its principles of international relations and advocate for the universal protection of human rights. By participating in the advisory proceedings, Bangladesh can underscore its longstanding dedication to upholding justice and equity on the global stage, emphasising its proactive role in addressing the rights of oppressed populations and supporting international law.

Quazi Omar Foysal is an international law expert, working at American International University-Bangladesh and practising in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

$10 billion needed to rebuild Gaza health system: WHO

At least $10 billion will likely be needed to rebuild Gaza’s devastated health system over the next five to seven years, according an initial World Health Organisation assessment Thursday.

www.newagebd.net

$10 billion needed to rebuild Gaza health system: WHO
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 17 January, 2025, 22:18

At least $10 billion will likely be needed to rebuild Gaza’s devastated health system over the next five to seven years, according an initial World Health Organisation assessment Thursday.

‘The needs are massive,’ the UN health agency’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, told reporters.

With a ceasefire finally looming, humanitarians are calling for a dramatic scaling up of humanitarian aid into war-ravaged Gaza, amid efforts to determine the size of the towering needs.

Peeperkorn said his team’s initial estimate of the cost to rebuild just the health sector was ‘even more than $3 billion for the first 1.5 years and then actually $10 billion for the five to seven years’.

‘In Gaza, we all know the destruction is so massive. I have never seen that anywhere else in my life,’ he said.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus meanwhile said ‘less than half of Gaza hospitals are functional’.

He hailed Wednesday’s announcement from mediators that Israel and Hamas had finally reached a truce as ‘just about the best news’.

He voiced hope that ‘this agreement marks the end of the darkest chapter in the history of the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians’.

‘We welcome this news with great relief, but also with sorrow that it has come too late for those who have died in the conflict,’ he said.

He also voiced ‘caution, given that we have had false dawns before, and the deal has not yet been confirmed’.

While the mediators said the deal was due to take effect on Sunday, Tedros urged the sides not to wait.

‘If both sides are committed to a ceasefire, it should start immediately,’ he said. ‘The best medicine is peace’.

‘So, let the healing begin, not just for Gaza, but for Israel as well. This is in everyone’s best interest.’

Peeperkorn said the WHO stood ready to ‘expand its support rapidly’ in the territory.

‘What is critical though is that the significant security the political obstacles to delivering aid across Gaza are removed,’ he said.

‘We need a rapid, unhindered and safe access to expedite the flow of aid into and across Gaza.’

Meanwhile, the EU is prepared to redeploy a monitoring mission to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after a ceasefire deal to end Israel’s war in the territory, the bloc’s top diplomat said Friday.

‘We are ready to do it,’ foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told journalists after meeting Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa in Brussels.

Kallas said the EU needed an invitation from the Palestinian and Israeli sides and agreement from Egypt before it could ‘go forward’.

The 27-nation bloc set up a civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the crossing, but that was suspended two years later after militant Islamists Hamas took control of Gaza.

The comments came as Israel’s security cabinet met Friday to vote on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect this weekend.

If approved, the agreement would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza’s deadliest-ever war and initiate on Sunday the release of dozens of hostages held in the territory since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Kallas called the truce deal a “positive breakthrough”, but warned that the road ahead was fraught with potential peril.

“It is still too soon to say whether the war is truly over and we know that there is risk in every step here,” she said.

The EU on Thursday announced a 120 million euros ($123 million) in humanitarian aid for Gaza after the ceasefire deal was struck.

“The European Union will continue to work closely with our partners to deliver humanitarian support,” Kallas said.

The Rafah crossing is a crucial entry into Gaza and Egyptian officials have said talks are underway to reopen it to surge aid into the territory.

The EU monitoring mission would include up to 10 European staff, officials said.

Kallas said that in the longer term the EU was working on a new “multi-year support programme for the Palestinian Authority” and was “ready to assist” in rebuilding Gaza.​

 

[Saif]

Ruined, Gaza hopes for respite

Israeli keeps pounding the Palestinian enclave as hours left for ceasefire to take effect

www.thedailystar.net

Ruined, Gaza hopes for respite
Israeli keeps pounding the Palestinian enclave as hours left for ceasefire to take effect

Photo: AFP A relative mourns over the bodies of four members of the Palestinian al-Qadra family (parents and their two children) killed in an Israeli strike that hit their tent north of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, in the yard of the Nasser hospital on January 18, 2025, a day before the expected implementation of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

A ceasefire in the Gaza war will begin Sunday morning at 0630 GMT, mediator Qatar said on Saturday after Israel's cabinet voted to approve the truce and hostage-prisoner release deal.

Qatar and the United States, which mediated the deal along with Egypt, had announced the agreement on Wednesday.

Israeli strikes on Gaza have continued since then. On Saturday, Gaza's Civil Defence rescue agency said at least five members of a family died when a strike hit the tent where they were staying in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.

Explosions were heard over Jerusalem Saturday morning after warning sirens blared and the military said a projectile had been launched from Yemen, whose Iran-backed rebels say they support the Palestinians.

"As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30am on Sunday, January 19, local time in Gaza," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said on X.

In more than 15 months of war between Hamas Palestinian militants and Israel, there has been only one previous truce, for one week, in November 2023. That deal also saw the release of hostages held by the militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

"The government has approved the hostage return plan," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Saturday after cabinet held its vote.

Netanyahu's office said the deal "supports achieving the objectives of the war".

Hamas, however, in a statement on Saturday said Israel had "failed to achieve its aggressive goals" and "only succeeded in committing war crimes that disgrace the dignity of humanity."

Israel's justice ministry said 737 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be freed as part of the deal's first phase -- none before 4:00 pm local time (1400 GMT) on Sunday.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has said an initial 42-day ceasefire would see 33 hostages released by Hamas in Gaza.

The truce is to take effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration for a second term as United States president.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has completed preparations "to assume full responsibility in Gaza" after the war.

Israel has expressed no definitive stance on post-war governance beyond rejecting any role for both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gaza should be under PA control.

Even before the truce begins, displaced Gazans were preparing to return home.

"I will go to kiss my land," said Nasr al-Gharabli, who fled his home in Gaza City for a camp further south. "If I die on my land, it would be better than being here as a displaced person."

In Jerusalem on Saturday, residents said the deal had been a long time coming.

"Hopefully a maximum amount of hostages will be coming back", said Beeri Yemeni, a university student. "Maybe this is the beginning of (the) end of suffering for both sides, hopefully," he said, adding that "the war needed to end like a long long time ago."

Israel's cabinet endorsement of the deal came despite eight ministers voting against it, including far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel's military campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,899 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

Mediators had worked for months to reach a deal but the efforts were fruitless until Trump's inauguration neared.

Brett McGurk, the pointman for outgoing President Joe Biden, was joined in the region by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in an unusual pairing to finalise the agreement, US officials said.

Israeli authorities assume the 33 captives to be released in the first phase are alive, but Hamas has yet to confirm that.

Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza's densely populated areas and allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", the Qatari prime minister said.

An Israeli military official said reception points had been established at Kerem Shalom, Erez and Reim, where hostages would be joined by doctors and mental health specialists before being "transported via helicopter or vehicle" to hospitals in Israel.

Israel "is then expected to release the first group of Palestinian prisoners, including several with high sentences", a source said on condition of anonymity.

During talks on Friday, negotiators agreed to form a joint operations room in Cairo to "ensure effective coordination" and compliance with the truce terms, Egyptian state-linked media reported.

Biden said an as of yet unfinalised second phase of the agreement would bring a "permanent end to the war".

In aid-starved Gaza, humanitarian workers caution a monumental task lies ahead.

On Friday, British lawmakers warned that Israeli legislation banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, threatens the truce deal. The ban on the main aid agency in Gaza is to take effect by the end of January.​

 

[Saif]

Will the ceasefire in Gaza hold?

The world must ensure Israel sticks to the deal

www.thedailystar.net

Will the ceasefire in Gaza hold?
The world must ensure Israel sticks to the deal

VISUAL: STAR

After fifteen months of relentless bombardment that has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—the Israeli government has agreed to a ceasefire deal with Hamas, set to begin on Sunday morning. The agreement was brokered primarily by incoming US President Donald Trump (with support from the Biden administration), Egypt, and Qatar. While there is some relief that the horrific bloodshed in Gaza may finally come to an end, serious doubts still remain given the realities on the ground.

It is appalling that even after the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday night, at least 122 Palestinians, including 33 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks. What does this say about the future of the ceasefire deal, or the quality of the "peace" to be brought by it?

During the first and second stages of the deal, Israeli hostages will be released, with priority given to children, the sick, and the elderly, while hundreds of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons will also be freed; humanitarian aid—largely withheld by Israel throughout the war—will also be allowed into Gaza. The third phase likely involves Gaza's reconstruction, supervised by Qatar and the UN, along with a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. However, given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reliance on far-right coalition partners, there is reason to doubt whether Israel will fully relinquish control. Moreover, allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza—now reduced to rubble—feels like a cruel irony. What arrangements are being made to shelter them before their homes are rebuilt?

Israel's history of overwhelming and disproportionate retaliation, along with the unwavering support it received from the US and other Western nations, leaves room for scepticism about whether Palestinians will be treated fairly in this process. Still, as delayed as it is, a ceasefire is something the world—and especially the Palestinian people—desperately needs.

Israel's history of overwhelming and disproportionate retaliation, along with the unwavering support it received from the US and other Western nations, leaves room for scepticism about whether Palestinians will be treated fairly in this process. Still, as delayed as it is, a ceasefire is something the world—and especially the Palestinian people—desperately needs.

The international community now must extend full support for Gaza's reconstruction and recovery. The war's catastrophic consequences—including thousands of disabled, injured, and traumatised children, women, and men—must be addressed with urgent medical care, psychological support, and financial aid. Palestinians must also have the right to choose their own leadership and be free from Israeli control. Most importantly, the US and other Western nations must ensure that Israel does not renege on its commitments under the deal using any pretext.​

 

[Saif]

‘Should we grieve, rejoice, or cry’

Thousands of displaced, war-weary Gazans set off across the devastated Palestinian territory to return to their home areas yesterday after a long-awaited truce between Israel and Hamas took effect following an initial delay

www.thedailystar.net

‘Should we grieve, rejoice, or cry’
Displaced Gazans head home through rubble as ceasefire begins

Photo: AFP Displaced Palestinians return to the Jabalia refugee camp through a destroyed neighbourhood in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, shortly before a ceasefire deal came into effect. A study estimated that 59.8% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been damaged or destroyed since the start of the conflict on October 7 2023.

Thousands of displaced, war-weary Gazans set off across the devastated Palestinian territory to return to their home areas yesterday after a long-awaited truce between Israel and Hamas took effect following an initial delay.

Minutes after the truce began, the UN said, the first trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza, where many residents are returning to nothing.

The ceasefire began nearly three hours later than scheduled. During the delay, Israel's military said it was continuing to operate, with the territory's civil defence agency reporting 19 people killed and 25 wounded in bombardments.

Thousands of Gazans carrying tents, clothes and their personal belongings were seen heading back to their homes, after more than 15 months of war that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's population, in many cases more than once.

In the northern area of Jabalia, hundreds streamed down a sandy path, returning to an apocalyptic landscape piled with rubble and destroyed buildings.

"We came here at six in the morning to find massive, unprecedented destruction," said Walid Abu Jiab, who returned to Jabalia.

"There is nothing left in the north worth living for."

Thaer al-Masri, 41, from Beit Lahia, said he could not describe his feelings. "Should we grieve, rejoice, or cry over what has happened? The only real emotion we feel is pain and loss – the loss of our home, our friends, and our city."

In the southern city of Khan Yunis, people who had not yet returned celebrated their pending homecoming.

"I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again," Aya, a displaced woman from Gaza City, who has been sheltering in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip for over a year, told Reuters via a chat app.

"I'm very, very happy," said Wafa al-Habeel, a resident . "I want to go back and kiss the ground and the soil of Gaza. I am longing for Gaza (City) and longing for our loved ones."

Aid workers say northern Gaza is particularly hard-hit, lacking all essentials including food, shelter and water.

Jonathan Whittall, interim chief of the UN's OCHA humanitarian agency for the Palestinian territories, said on X that the first trucks started entering following the truce, after "a massive effort" to prepare for a surge of aid across the territory.

Hundreds of trucks had been waiting at the Gaza border, poised to enter. Some were loaded with prefabricated houses.

The truce had been scheduled to begin at 8:30am (0630 GMT) but a last-minute dispute over the list of hostages to be freed on the first day led to the holdup.

Qatar, a mediator of the truce, later confirmed it had gone into effect.

Later, the Israeli military said that three hostages have been released by Hamas and they were with its forces in the Gaza Strip.

"The three released hostages are being accompanied by IDF special forces and ISA forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment," the military said in a statement.

Earlier, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group identified the three as women and named them as Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher.

Hamas said it was waiting for Israel to furnish "a list containing the names of 90 prisoners from the categories of women and children" also to be released on the first day.

A total of 33 hostages will be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce, in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians in Israeli custody.

The truce is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war, but a second phase has yet to be finalised.

It follows a deal struck by Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations that had generated false hopes.

In a televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu called the 42-day first phase a "temporary ceasefire" and said Israel had US support to return to the war if necessary.

In Gaza City, well before the ceasefire went into effect, people were already celebrating, waving Palestinian flags in the street.

The Israeli army warned Gaza residents early yesterday not to approach its forces or Israeli territory.

"We urge you not to head towards the buffer zone or IDF forces for your safety," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram, adding that "moving from south to north via Gaza Valley puts you at risk".

Israeli forces had started withdrawing from areas in Gaza's Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, pro-Hamas media reported.

In Israel, the ceasefire was met with guarded optimism.

"I don't trust our side or their side," said taxi driver David Gutterman. "Always at the last moment something, a problem, can pop up, but all in all, I'm happy."

Shai Zaik, an employee at Tel Aviv's art museum, said he had "mixed feelings" but was "full of hope" that the hostages would return after so many disappointments in the last year."

Israel has prepared reception centres to provide medical treatment and counselling to the freed hostages before they return to their families. Health workers have warned of the psychological challenges the captives will face upon release.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said 600 trucks a day would enter Gaza after the ceasefire took effect, including 50 carrying fuel.

The war's only previous truce, for one week in November 2023, also saw the release of hostages held by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Since October 2023, Israel's military campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing at least 46,913 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

The truce took effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration for a second term as president of the United States.

Trump, who claimed credit for the ceasefire deal after months of effort by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, told US network NBC on Saturday that he had told Netanyahu the war "has to end".

"We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done," he said.

Under the deal, Israeli forces will withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", Qatar's prime minister said in announcing the deal.​

 

[Saif]

What are the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal?

A six-week initial ceasefire phase includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza

www.thedailystar.net

What are the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal?

Members of the Hamas security forces deploy in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on January 19, 2025, hours before a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas was implemented. Photo: AFP

Details of the Gaza ceasefire deal have not yet been publicly announced by the mediators, Israel or Hamas.

Officials briefed on the deal provided the following elements:

A six-week initial ceasefire phase includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.

The deal requires 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the ceasefire, 50 of them carrying fuel, with 300 of the trucks allocated to the north, where conditions for civilians are particularly difficult.

HAMAS
​

• Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women (soldiers and civilians), children, and men over 50.​
• Hamas will release female hostages and under 19s first, followed by men over 50. Three female hostages are expected to be released through the Red Cross on Sunday after 1400 GMT, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said.​
• Hamas will inform the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) where the meeting point will be inside Gaza and the ICRC is expected to begin driving to that location to collect the hostages.​
• Hamas will release the hostages over a six-week period, with at least three hostages released each week and the remainder of the 33 before the end of the period. All living hostages will be released first, followed by remains of dead hostages.​

ISRAEL
​

• Israel will release 30 Palestinian detainees for every civilian hostage and 50 Palestinian detainees for every Israeli female soldier Hamas releases.​
• Israel will release all Palestinian women and children under 19 detained since Oct. 7, 2023 by end of the first phase.​
• The total number of Palestinians released will depend on hostages released, and could be between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian detainees including men, women and children.​

LATER PHASES
​

• The implementation of the agreement will be guaranteed by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.​
• Negotiations over a second phase of the agreement will begin by the 16th day of phase one.​
• Phase two is expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, including Israeli male soldiers, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers.​
• A third phase is expected to include the return of all remaining dead bodies and the start of Gaza's reconstruction, supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.​

 

[Saif]

Displaced Gazans head home through rubble as Israel-Hamas truce begins

Thousands of displaced, war-weary Gazans set off across the devastated Palestinian territory to return to their homes on Sunday, after a long-awaited truce between Israel and Hamas went into effect following an initial delay.

en.prothomalo.com

Displaced Gazans head home through rubble as Israel-Hamas truce begins
AFP
Published: 19 Jan 2025, 17: 55

This aerial view shows displaced Palestinians returning to the war-devastated Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on January 19, 2025, shortly before a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas was implemented. Mediator Qatar on June 19 confirmed the start of a truce between Israel and Hamas and said some of the initial three hostages to be freed hold foreign citizenship. AFP

Thousands of displaced, war-weary Gazans set off across the devastated Palestinian territory to return to their homes on Sunday, after a long-awaited truce between Israel and Hamas went into effect following an initial delay.

The ceasefire began nearly three hours later than scheduled, during which time Israel's military said it was continuing to operate in Gaza, with the territory's civil defence agency reporting 19 people killed and 25 wounded in bombardments.

Thousands of Gazans carrying tents, clothes and their personal belongings were seen heading back to their homes, after more than 15 months of war that displaced the vast majority of the territory's population, in many cases more than once.

In the northern area of Jabalia, hundreds of Gazans streamed down a sandy path, returning to an apocalyptic landscape dotted with piles of rubble and destroyed buildings.

And in the main southern city of Khan Yunis, people celebrated their pending homecoming.

"I'm very, very happy," said Wafa al-Habeel. "I want to go back and kiss the ground and the soil of Gaza. I am longing for Gaza (City) and longing for our loved ones."

The truce had been scheduled to begin at 0630 GMT (8:30 am) but a last-minute dispute over the list of hostages to be freed on the first day led to the holdup.

Qatar, a mediator of the truce, later confirmed it had gone into effect.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group identified the three women set to be released as Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher.

Hamas, meanwhile, said it was waiting for Israel to furnish "a list containing the names of 90 prisoners from the categories of women and children" also to be released on the first day.

A total of 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel will be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce, in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians in Israeli custody.

The truce is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war, but a second phase has yet to be finalised.

It follows a deal struck by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations.

In a televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu called the 42-day first phase a "temporary ceasefire" and said Israel had US support to return to the war if necessary.

'Full of hope'

In Gaza City, well before the ceasefire went into effect, people were already celebrating, waving Palestinian flags in the street.

But when it became clear the truce had been delayed, the joy gave way to desperation for some.

"Enough playing with our emotions -- we're exhausted," said Maha Abed, a 27-year-old displaced from Rafah.

The Israeli army warned Gaza residents early Sunday not to approach its forces or Israeli territory.

"We urge you not to head towards the buffer zone or IDF forces for your safety," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram, adding that "moving from south to north via Gaza Valley puts you at risk".

In Israel, the ceasefire was met with guarded optimism.

"I don't trust our side or their side," said taxi driver David Gutterman. "Always at the last moment something, a problem, can pop up, but all in all I'm really happy."

Shai Zaik, an employee at Tel Aviv's art museum, said he had "mixed feelings", but was "full of hope" that the hostages would return.\


"We had so many disappointments in the last year," he said, "so we won't believe it until it really happens, until we see them (the hostages) with our own eyes, and then we will be happy I hope."

Israel has prepared reception centres to provide medical treatment and counselling to the freed hostages before they return to their families after their long ordeal.

Trucks waiting

Hundreds of trucks waited at the Gaza border, poised to enter from Egypt as soon as they get the all-clear to deliver desperately needed aid. Some trucks were loaded with prefabricated houses.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said 600 trucks a day would enter Gaza after the ceasefire took effect, including 50 carrying fuel.

The war's only previous truce, for one week in November 2023, also saw the release of hostages held by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas's October 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel's history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing at least 46,899 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

The truce took effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration for a second term as president of the United States.

Trump, who claimed credit for the ceasefire deal after months of effort by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, told US network NBC on Saturday that he had told Netanyahu the war "has to end".

"We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done," he said.

Brett McGurk, the pointman for outgoing President Joe Biden, was joined in the region by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in an unusual pairing to finalise the agreement, US officials said.

Under the deal, Israeli forces will withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", Qatar's prime minister said in announcing the deal.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas, Israel free hostages, prisoners

A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was holding Monday, following the dramatic exchange of three hostages for 90 Palestinian prisoners in an agreement aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in Gaza.

www.newagebd.net

Hamas, Israel free hostages, prisoners
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem, Undefined 21 January, 2025, 01:05

A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was holding Monday, following the dramatic exchange of three hostages for 90 Palestinian prisoners in an agreement aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in Gaza.

The three hostages released Sunday, all women, were reunited with their families and taken to hospital in central Israel where a doctor said they were in stable condition.

Hours later in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian prisoners released by Israel left Ofer prison on buses, with jubilant crowds celebrating their arrival.

As the ceasefire took effect, thousands of displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return home.

The truce began on the eve of the Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term as US president, who has claimed credit for the agreement after months of fruitless negotiations.

If all goes according to plan, the implementation of the truce will take weeks if not months, with only the first phase of the truce agreed so far by all the parties.

Despite the risks, hundreds of Palestinians were streaming through an apocalyptic landscape in Jabalia in northern Gaza, one of the worst-hit areas in the war.

‘We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it’s our home,’ said Rana Mohsen, 43.

The initial 42-day truce was brokered by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt.

It should enable a surge of sorely needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, as more Israeli hostages are released in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.

Under the agreement, Israeli forces should leave some areas of Gaza as the parties begin negotiating the terms of a permanent ceasefire.

During the initial truce, Israeli hostages, 31 of whom were taken by militants during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, are due to be returned from Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians.

The first three released hostages, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, returned home to Israel after Hamas fighters handed them over to the Red Cross in a bustling square in Gaza City, surrounded by gunmen in fatigues and balaclavas.

‘In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back,’ Damari’s mother Mandy said on Monday, adding that she was ‘doing much better than any of us could have expected’, even after she had lost two fingers.

Damari, a British-Israeli dual national, was at home in Kfar Aza in southern Israel when Hamas gunmen stormed her home on October 7, 2023, injuring her hands and legs and taking her hostage.

Steinbrecher’s family said in a statement that ‘our heroic Dodo, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, begins her rehabilitation journey today’.

In Tel Aviv, there was elation among the crowd who had waited for hours for the news of their release, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group hailing their return as ‘a beacon of light’.

On Monday, however, there was anxiety in Israel over the next phases of the truce, with columnist Sima Kadmon warning in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily that the coming hostage releases may be more painful.

‘Some of them will arrive on gurneys and wheelchairs. Others will arrive in coffins. Some will arrive wounded and injured, in dire emotional condition that will prevent some of the footage from being broadcast,’ she wrote.

Journalist Avi Issacharoff, one of the creators of hit series Fauda, lashed out against the Israeli government for what he said was its failure ‘to engage in any way on the ‘day after’ the war.’

Following the return of the three women hostages, the Israel Prison Service confirmed the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners early Monday.

In the town of Beitunia, near Ofer prison, Palestinians cheered and chanted as buses carrying them arrived, with some climbing atop and unfurling a Hamas flag.

‘All the prisoners being released today feel like family to us. They are part of us, even if they’re not blood relatives,’ Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, said.

One freed detainee, Abdul Aziz Muhammad Atawneh, described prison as ‘hell, hell, hell’.

The next hostage-prisoner swap should take place on Saturday, a senior Hamas official said.

International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric called on all sides to ‘adhere to their commitments to ensure the next operations can take place safely’.

UN relief chief Tom Fletcher said 630 trucks carrying desperately needed aid had entered into Gaza in the hours after the start of the truce, with 300 of them headed to the north of the territory.

The truce is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war, but a second phase has yet to be finalised.

Thousands of Palestinians carrying tents, clothes and their personal belongings were seen going home on Sunday, after the war displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population of 2.4 million.

The World Food Programme said it was moving full throttle to get food to as many Gazans as possible.

‘We’re trying to reach a million people within the shortest possible time,’ said its deputy executive director, Carl Skau.

The war’s only previous truce, for one week in November 2023, also saw the release of hostages held by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas’s October 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel’s history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage, 91 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that the death toll in the war between Israel and Hamas had reached 46,913.​

 

[Saif]

WHO says needs full Gaza access during Israel-Hamas truce

The World Health Organisation said Sunday it was ready to pour much-needed aid into Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, but that it would need ‘systematic access’ across the territory to do so.

www.newagebd.net

WHO says needs full Gaza access during Israel-Hamas truce
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 20 January, 2025, 22:43

Relatives of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Rushdi, who was killed during an Israeli military operation in the village of Sebastia in the north of occupied West Bank, react during his funeral in Sebastia on Monday. | AFP photo

The World Health Organisation said Sunday it was ready to pour much-needed aid into Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, but that it would need ‘systematic access’ across the territory to do so.

Much of the Gaza Strip’s health infrastructure has been destroyed by the more than year-long war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas before a ceasefire took hold on Sunday.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the ceasefire, posting on social media that it would ‘bring great hope for millions of people whose lives have been ravaged by the conflict’.

But he added that ‘addressing the massive health needs and restoring the health system in Gaza will be a complex and challenging task, given the scale of destruction, operational complexity and constraints involved’.

While the United Nations’ health body was ‘ready to scale up the response’ to address the territory’s critical needs, it said in a statement that ‘it is critical that the security obstacles hindering operations are removed’.

‘WHO will need conditions on the ground that allow systematic access to the population across Gaza, enabling the influx of aid via all possible borders and routes, and lifting restrictions on the entry of essential items,’ the agency said in a statement.

Until the truce, Israel had complete control over the volume and nature of aid allowed into Gaza.

Warning that the ‘health challenges ahead are immense’, the Geneva-based agency estimated the cost of rebuilding Gaza’s battered health system in the years to come at ‘billions in investment’.

Last week the WHO put the figure at more than $10 billion.

‘Only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, nearly all hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed, and just 38 per cent of primary health care centres are functional,’ the WHO said.

Basing its figures on those provided by the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which the UN considers reliable, the WHO put the war’s toll in Gaza at more than 46,600 people killed and over 1,10,000 wounded.

A quarter of those wounded ‘face life-changing injuries and will need on-going rehabilitation,’ the UN body estimated.

Around 12,000 people need to be evacuated for urgent treatment elsewhere, it added, while warning the destruction of health infrastructure had had knock-on effects.

The WHO also expressed concern over the ‘breakdown of public order, exacerbated by armed gangs’ interfering with aid deliveries to Gaza.​

 

[Saif]

What does lie ahead for Gazans?

There was euphoria in Gaza following the announcement of ceasefire deal between the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, and Israel on Wednesday. The ceasefire deal that came into effect on Sunday (January 19) following approval by the Israeli cabinet was brokered by the US, Qatar and Egy

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

What does lie ahead for Gazans?
SYED FATTAHUL ALIM
Published :
Jan 20, 2025 21:46
Updated :
Jan 20, 2025 21:46

There was euphoria in Gaza following the announcement of ceasefire deal between the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, and Israel on Wednesday. The ceasefire deal that came into effect on Sunday (January 19) following approval by the Israeli cabinet was brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt. However, the ceasefire took effect at 9:15 GMT on Sunday after about three hours' delay. The delay, as expected, was caused by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who claimed that Hamas had not sent the list of the Israeli hostages to be released on Sunday. The Palestinian militant group Hamas explained the matter saying that it was due to 'technical reasons' and complexity of the field situation marked by continued Israeli bombing that caused the delay in disclosing the names of three female hostages.

Netanyahu, who would use any excuse to spill Palestinian blood did kill at least 19 Gazans during the delay. According to the Hamas, 120 people were killed in Israeli bombing since Wednesday (January 15) when the announcement of the ceasefire deal was made. Now, as agreed in document for 42 days' temporary suspension of hostilities, a total of 33 Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for 1890 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Also, as per the truce deal, Israel will gradually withdraw its army from Gaza. At the end of the second week of the truce, the second phase of the ceasefire is set to start. Though details of the second phase are yet to be worked out in full, it is expected that during this phase, the remaining Israeli hostages would be released by Hamas. Israel, on its part, will also free many more Palestinians from Israeli jails. The understanding is that Israel will fully withdraw its troops from Gaza. Meanwhile, UN relief trucks will flow into Gaza with emergency supply of foods, medicines and other necessities for the famished residents of the enclave.

Notably, the residents of Gaza were subjected not only to non-stop aerial bombardment and artillery shelling on the ground by Israeli military during its last fifteen months' campaign against the Hamas, they were also denied food, water and other necessities as entry of any UN relief materials was blocked by Netanyahu government and his political thugs.

Indeed, it all sounds good at a time when the Palestinians were facing the dark prospect of total annihilation or expulsion from Gaza. For with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, which was a conduit for supplying mostly Iranian arms and weapons to Hezbollah, was cut off unexpectedly throwing the Lebanese militant group's war of attrition against Israel into disarray. As a result, Hamas was left to fight the Israeli forces alone without any help from outside. The fall of Syria also presented an unforeseen opportunity before Israel's Netanyahu to finally fulfil his dream of creating greater Israel as encapsulated in the slogan, 'from the river to sea'. And that would be done by annexing West Bank, clearing Gaza of its population and occupying parts of Lebanon and Syria. With unconditional support from the USA, Netanyahu saw no problem going ahead with his mission to kill all Palestinians and grab all their lands. Things were progressing according to plan as Gazans were being exterminated without any outcry raised by the Western powers, the so-called champions of morality, humanity and all that is noble on earth! But suddenly came this idea of ceasefire to stop Mr Netanyahu's grand mission in its tracks.

It appears the US, with its new team for the White House, has a different plan. So, the ceasefire deal, which could not be reached during the last eight months, thanks to Mr Netanyahu and his extremist cabinet colleagues like Ben-Gvir's stiff opposition to it, is, in all probability, now forced upon them. The real picture of what is happening behind the scene is yet to unfold fully. Meanwhile, the people of Gaza and the rest of Palestine will be left wondering what the future holds in store for them.​

 

[Saif]

FIGHT FOR DIGNITY: Reshaping Gaza’s post-war narrative

FOLLOWING every Israeli war on Gaza, numerous narratives emerge. Some claim victory for one side and defeat for the other, while others — knowingly or unknowingly — attempt to exploit the aftermath for their own purposes...

www.newagebd.net

FIGHT FOR DIGNITY: Reshaping Gaza’s post-war narrative
Ramzy Baroud 22 January, 2025, 00:00

Counter Punch

FOLLOWING every Israeli war on Gaza, numerous narratives emerge. Some claim victory for one side and defeat for the other, while others — knowingly or unknowingly — attempt to exploit the aftermath for their own purposes.

The latter is not always nefarious, as the humanitarian calamities resulting from Israel’s actions are undeniable — especially as Israel and its allies often use aid to Palestinians as bargaining chips for political concessions or to exert pressure on the Strip and its leadership.

This dynamic often results in the exploitation of Palestinian suffering to raise funds, sometimes by organisations with high overhead costs, leaving independent researchers puzzled over the discrepancies between the funds collected and the funds allocated.

Additionally, Gaza lacks an independent commission to track all received funds and their usage, which leads to controversies and public accusations at times.

Exploiting Gaza

HOWEVER, this is a topic for another discussion. The issue at hand here is the portrayal of Gaza’s victims — particularly children — without dignity or respect for their privacy, all in the name of helping Palestinian victims.

Throughout the latest Israeli assault on Gaza, the desperation of many Palestinian families, faced with famine and extermination, led them to seek help from international donors, often turning to online donation platforms.

Many of these personal fundraisers were, of course, legitimate, as Gaza was entirely pushed past the point of starvation. Yet, suspicious accounts also appeared, raising money for individuals — real or imagined — who had not sought assistance.

Perhaps future researchers will uncover how Gaza has been exploited by online profiteers and determine how to regulate such practices.

We hesitated to raise this issue during the war, fearing that a single misstep could have dire consequences for an individual or a family. Now that a ceasefire has been signed, it is crucial to open the conversation to scrutiny.

Reclaiming the narrative

THE latest Israeli war on Gaza was not ordinary, but then, no previous wars have been anything but destructive and lethal. For Israel, it was a genocide — a war aimed at exterminating Gaza’s population through mass killings and driving the survivors into Egypt.

Thanks to the legendary steadfastness of Gaza’s resistance and the unbending spirit of its people, Israel failed. As Israeli writer David K Rees said, ‘For the first time, Israel just lost a war.’

This is the Gaza that most Palestinians want us to know and remember — a symbol of collective strength and resistance. Their hope is that this message can reverberate around the world, not only to elevate the centrality of Gaza and Palestine in all political discourse but also to inspire oppressed groups globally to fight for their rights unapologetically.

Sadly, though sometimes understandably, that message is not one many are eager to champion.

Many will continue to see Palestinians only as victims. While this narrative may hold Israel accountable for its genocide, it fails to recognise the agency Palestinians have earned and deserve.

However, at times, this viewpoint can be understandable, especially in charitable causes, where the immediate need for aid must be addressed. Yet, it is possible to strike a balance — between meeting the urgent needs of victims and honoring their dignity, resilience, and collective power.

Not hapless victims

THE exploitation of Palestinians, especially their children, as tools for fundraising must end. Gaza’s children, many of whom are amputees, should not be paraded in the most degrading manner to appeal to wealthy donors. The world already knows what Israel has done to the Palestinian people — especially the children of Gaza, who suffer the highest rate of child amputations globally.

This is not to deny the suffering. We are proud and humbled by every Palestinian child — whether martyred, injured, amputated, or emotionally scarred. However, instead of portraying them as helpless victims, we must celebrate them as poets, artists, reporters, and representatives of their people.

The time has come for a new narrative, one fundamentally different from those that have emerged in the wake of previous wars. The new narrative must position Gaza as the heart of the Palestinian struggle, as a model for humanity, and as the central path for the liberation of Palestine — which, thanks to Gaza, now seems closer than ever.

Don’t help Israel

TO BETRAY this fact is to betray Gaza and all its sacrifices. A victim-only narrative that ignores the larger political context risks undoing the gains made by Palestinian popular resistance in Gaza and inadvertently helping Israel reintroduce a fear-driven discourse. After 15 months of relentless genocide, Israel has failed to instill fear in Gaza’s population — and it must not succeed in rebuilding it.

Yes, we must spare no effort to help Gaza rebuild and resume its historical role as the leader of the Palestinian liberation movement. But we must do so with sensitivity, compassion, and above all, respect for Gaza and its unparalleled sacrifices.

CounterPunch.org, January 21. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the editor of the Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas will free four women hostages in next swap

Hamas said on Tuesday it will release four women hostages in the next swap with Israel under the terms of a fragile truce intended to bring to an end to 15 months of war in Gaza...

www.newagebd.net

Hamas will free four women hostages in next swap
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 22 January, 2025, 00:24

Hamas said on Tuesday it will release four women hostages in the next swap with Israel under the terms of a fragile truce intended to bring to an end to 15 months of war in Gaza.

US president Donald Trump, who claimed credit for the hard-won ceasefire agreement, said he doubted the deal would hold as he took office for a historic second term.

Desperately needed humanitarian aid has begun to flow into Gaza as Palestinians displaced by the war headed back to devastated areas of the territory, hopeful the agreement would hold.

The ceasefire took effect on Sunday, and saw Israel and Hamas conduct their first exchange of hostages for prisoners.

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said that four Israeli women hostages will be freed on Saturday in exchange for a second group of Palestinian prisoners.

In Washington, newly-inaugurated Trump cast doubt on whether the truce would hold.

‘That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident,’ he said.

Trump had claimed credit for the three-phase ceasefire agreement announced ahead of his return to the White House by Qatar and the United States, following months of fruitless negotiations under his predecessor Joe Biden.

Qatar was confident in the ceasefire deal it helped mediate ‘when it comes to the language of the deal, when it comes to the fact that we hashed out all the major issues on the table’, its foreign minister spokesman said on Tuesday.

The new US president has made clear he would support Israel, and in one of his first acts as president, he revoked sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank imposed by the Biden administration over attacks against Palestinians.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his return, while far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich thanked him for lifting the sanctions.

‘I look forward to working with you to return the remaining hostages, to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,’ Netanyahu said.

‘Mr. President, your unwavering and uncompromising support for the State of Israel is a testament to your deep connection to the Jewish people and our historical right to our land,’ Smotrich wrote on X.

Displaced Gazan Ghadeer Abdul Rabbo, 30, said she hopes that ‘with or without Trump’, the ceasefire will hold and world governments will help ‘maintain this calm, because we are afraid’.

If all goes to plan, during the initial, 42-day phase of the truce that began Sunday, a total of 33 hostages are to be returned from Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians.

Over those six weeks, the parties are meant to negotiate a permanent ceasefire.

In Rafah, in southern Gaza, Ismail Madi said that ‘we have endured immense hardships, but we will stay here. We will rebuild this place.’

Three Israeli hostages, all women, were reunited with their families on Sunday after more than 15 months in captivity.

Hours later, 90 Palestinian prisoners were released from an Israeli jail.

In Israel, there was elation as Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher returned home and appeared to be in good health.

‘In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back,’ Damari’s mother Mandy said on Monday, adding that her daughter was ‘doing much better than any of us could have expected’ even after losing two fingers.

The first group of Palestinians released under the deal left Ofer prison in the West Bank early Monday, with jubilant crowds celebrating their arrival in the nearby town of Beitunia.

One freed detainee, Abdul Aziz Muhammad Atawneh, described prison as ‘hell, hell, hell’.

Another, Khalida Jarrar of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — proscribed as a ‘terrorist’ group by Israel and some Western governments — said she had been kept ‘in solitary confinement for six months’.

The relatives of the three Israeli ex-hostages called for the release of the remaining 91 captives seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, including 34 the military says are dead.

Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of Romi Gonen, said: ‘We got our Romi back, but all families deserve the same outcome, both the living and the dead.’

There was anxiety in Israel over the next phases of the truce, with columnist Sima Kadmon warning in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily that the coming hostage releases may be more painful than the first.

‘Some of them will arrive on gurneys and wheelchairs. Others will arrive in coffins. Some will arrive wounded and injured, in dire emotional condition,’ she wrote.

In southern Gaza, Ammar Barbakh, 35, spent the truce’s first night in a tent on the rubble of his home.

‘This is the first time I sleep comfortably and I’m not afraid,’ he said.

‘It’s a beautiful feeling, and I hope the ceasefire continues.’

The war has devastated much of the Gaza Strip and displaced the vast majority of its population of 2.4 million.

More than 900 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Monday, the United Nations said.

The day the deal came into force, 630 trucks entered Gaza.

Qatar, which played a key role in negotiating the truce, said that 12.5 million litres of fuel would enter Gaza over the first 10 days.

Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that the death toll in the war had reached 46,913, a majority civilians, figures the United Nations has said are reliable.​

 

[Saif]

The ceasefire that couldn't heal: Reflections from a survivor

I can’t forget the days in Gaza’s hospitals—the sight of dismembered children and the cries from phosphorus burns.

www.thedailystar.net

The ceasefire that couldn't heal: Reflections from a survivor

Kamel’s family home, captured from a video of a drone passing through the sky, on January 19, 2025. PHOTO COURTESY: KAMEL ABU AMSHA

Late September 2023, I returned to Gaza from Faridpur to see my family. It was my 24th birthday. I have been studying medicine in Bangladesh, and it was the first time in four years that I visited them. A few days later, we all knew what had happened. After seven months of genocide, I left Gaza and my family behind. My story of surviving the genocide was covered by The Daily Star in May 2024. I am not one to share my sorrow or pain, but I agreed to let a journalist document what happened to me so that Israel could not achieve its final victory— erasing these atrocities from human memory.

During those weeks when I shared what I went through in Gaza, there was talk of a ceasefire, but it never seemed likely as things only worsened. I was in Gaza during a temporary truce, which was reported as a "halt in fighting," but it was a farce. We went to our house, already bombed once, to retrieve food for the camps. We left quickly as the house was bombed again during that pause.

Months passed, and I have lost 35 family members to date. I lost my cousin Jamal, who was like a brother to me. The day he was killed by Israeli airstrikes, my uncle, Jamal's father, tried to bury him in Jabalia. But the Israeli had sieged the area. Jamal's body was left with a cloth, and today, five months later, he has still not been buried. As I write this, I wonder what Jamal did in this cruel world, to not even get the chance to rest peacefully and with dignitu, even after he was killed.

My immediate family have been displaced almost daily and injured. Changes happened around the world but things remained the same in the north of Gaza: in horror. The government changed in Bangladesh, where I've been since leaving my family in Gaza. Similar to the internet blackout during the last days of the previous regime here, my family still goes without internet for five to seven days at a stretch.

On a random Wednesday, January 15, 2025, we all got the news that a ceasefire had been reached. My first reaction was an overwhelming urge to celebrate with my family, just as I had suffered the flames of war with them. Then a strange feeling overtook me. Seven months of genocide flashed across my mind like a reel. I can't forget October 7, the day I had been asleep in Gaza for just seven days before the war began. I understood nothing back then and could not, in my worst nightmare, imagine all that followed: displacement after displacement, hunger, fear, thirst, and exhaustion.

I can't forget the days in Gaza's hospitals—the sight of dismembered children and the cries from phosphorus burns. I can't forget escaping Gaza through an Israeli checkpoint, fearing every moment that I would be shot or bombed. I can't forget the bitter cold of the night we slept in an open tent, with torn clothes and no blankets. I hugged my brother just to keep warm. I can't forget returning to our first camp, Al-Falluja, where decaying corpses were everywhere.

Kamel’s nephew and father in front of the camp where they were staying in North Gaza, three weeks before the ceasefire. PHOTO COURTESY: KAMEL ABU AMSHA

The feeling of joy dissipated, and I did not believe the ceasefire would hold. Growing up in Gaza, always fearing Israeli attacks and enduring the genocide, has eroded my trust in everything. I never trusted anything the Israeli government said. They killed, destroyed, and ruined my life as I knew it. Frankly, I don't remember what my beloved city, Gaza, looked like before the war or what it felt like without the smell of death. So, how can I believe they would stop killing now?

Just days before the ceasefire, my parents were taking refuge with other stranded residents in a small room of a broken house in southern North Gaza. I could not reach my family when the ceasefire was announced, and at the time of this writing, I still haven't been able to talk to them, as they do not have internet. But I heard there was relentless shelling. Until the ceasefire came into effect on Sunday, I worried my family would not live to see it. The Israeli army indiscriminately bombed everywhere to claim more so-called "victories." We had been lucky, by God's grace, to survive so far. I always prayed but feared that luck would run out.

My cousin Sayed, who has periodic internet access and updates me on my family's whereabouts, informed me they evacuated their shelter but made it out safely.

Now that the ceasefire is in effect, people ask if I am happy. But how could anyone from Gaza, especially those who lived through the genocide, relate to the word "happiness"? The house I grew up in has been destroyed. My family takes shelter wherever they can—in rooms of houses that survived the bombings. Many residents from the North fled to the South, and when they return, my family will be homeless. The streets of North Gaza have been destroyed with such depravity that even a tent cannot be set up.

I truly believe no one can understand how terrible it is unless they see it with their own eyes. Yet still, I feel a sense of relief that the bombing has stopped, even if temporarily, and people have stopped dying—a thought that once seemed too distant. In Gaza, "peace" now means not hearing the thunderous sound of bombs, and a pause in the constant struggle for survival.

Thinking of my family's condition has made me feel like giving up, but I returned to Bangladesh alive, with the dream of becoming a doctor. I continued studying, but it was not without challenges. After returning, I would suffer severe trauma shocks. They would start with chest pain, and I would fall unconscious, on the verge of heart attacks. My roommates, who took me to the CCU, later told me I hallucinated snipers and blood. But I am one of the lucky ones. I made it out alive after seven months. For my family members and friends who lost their children and parents, the psychological trauma is immense.

News stories now focus on Israeli hostages being reunited with their families, while Palestinians are referred to as "prisoners." The Israeli army has randomly and arbitrarily arrested people. The worst day of my life was December 18 last year, during the second paper of my final medical exams. I woke up to messages from my cousin Sayed that the Israeli army had besieged the shelter where my family was in Beit Hanoun. Their neighbours were killed. My mother was injured by shrapnel while escaping.

They arrested my brothers Nahid, 21, and Mohammad, 22, my grandfather, who is over 70, and my father. None of my brothers had any affiliation with Hamas. What crime did they commit other than trying to survive? My father was released, thankfully, but my brothers and grandfather remain in an Israeli prison, enduring torture. Everyone in Gaza knows what the prisons are like—prisoners are given no place to sleep, nothing to eat, and are beaten as though they are not human beings.

I don't know why my father was released but my brothers weren't. The way the Israelis imprison Palestinians is arbitrary and ruthless. Each time I see the news, I hope to see my brothers freed before the next tragedy strikes. I don't trust the ceasefire will last or that the war will permanently end. The perpetrators' nature is betrayal.

The Israeli army told us to go to "safe zones," only to bomb them. They tricked people, even children, into death. I fled to so many such zones only to be forced to leave again. Many escaped alive—if they were lucky—while thousands died.

The hope that the US, with the transition from Biden to Trump, will make the ceasefire last does not inspire trust. The US has always supported Israel's killings, as have other powerful countries. At 25, I have lived through five flare-ups caused by the Israeli army, armed by countries that support their actions. In Gaza, the world showed no mercy to the elderly, children, women, youth, homes, streets, mosques, schools, or universities. They tried to annihilate us, but they cannot destroy our determination to not give up.

We Gazans dream that one day the sun will rise for us and never set again. Until then, we keep going, even if it means dying in the process. There may be a ceasefire now, but any form of trust that lives will be spared has ceased to exist.

When I left for Bangladesh, my father told me, "We know our fate, but you have a different fate. Go and become a doctor." Every day I wake up, I remember those words with a sinking feeling in my chest, and I go on with life. Because what else can I do? In Gaza, we are hardwired to keep going—and so, that's what we do.

Kamel Abu Amsha is a Palestinian medical student in Faridpur Medical College.​

 

[Saif]

Ceasefire in Gaza: what next?

For the second time, in the one and a half year long war of attrition unleashed by Israel, a ceasefire has come into effect from January 19, one day before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of United States. This time the ceasefire is broader in scope and has a longer timeframe than

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Ceasefire in Gaza: what next?
Hasnat Abdul Hye
Published :
Jan 24, 2025 21:00
Updated :
Jan 24, 2025 21:00

A member of the Palestinian Hamas police directs traffic on a street in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on January 20, 2025. Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry said Saturday in a statement that its security forces will begin deploying across the Gaza Strip as soon as the ceasefire-for-hostage release deal takes effect on January 19. Photo : Xinhua/Files

For the second time, in the one and a half year long war of attrition unleashed by Israel, a ceasefire has come into effect from January 19, one day before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of United States. This time the ceasefire is broader in scope and has a longer timeframe than the first one that took place for a week, from 24 November to 30 November in 2023. A total of 70 Israeli hostages were released by Hamas then, against 210 Palestinian prisoners held by Israelis. At the end of the truce on 30 November, another one day extension was agreed upon by both sides for further release of Israelis and Palestinians but the truce ended with Hamas blaming the Israelis for violation of terms of agreement.

In May, 2024, as the war in Gaza entered eight months, Egyptian and Qatari officials, working with American counterparts, worked out a ceasefire deal which was accepted by Hamas but rejected by Israel. Later, President Biden announced that Israel had agreed to a three- phase ceasefire and this time the American proposal was placed before the UN Security Council which adopted the same. But the Israeli prime minister rejected the deal and continued with the war.

On December 2, 2025, the president-elect, Donald Trump, posted in social media that hostages held by Hamas have to be released before his inauguration on January 20 or else 'all hell will break lose'. It was a very unusual statement coming from the president incumbent, using strong-arm tactics of underworld characters. It was obvious that his threat was directed at Hamas. There was gallows' humour in the threat because the Palestinians, including Hamas, were already living in hell, courtesy the devastations wrought by Israeli defence force (IDF) in Gaza.

As the interminable negotiations continued in the Qatari capital and in Cairo, representatives of the incoming Trump administration joined the Biden-era American officials. In addition, president-elect Trump sent his middle-east trouble-shooter, Steve Witcoff, to hold talks with Netanyahu and other stake-holders. It requires little imagination to conclude that the input by president elect Trump, particularly through backdoor diplomacy, using carrot and stick, pulled off the elusive ceasefire deal. Discussion on what may be embodied in the 'carrot and the stick' policy can be postponed until the terms of the present ceasefire agreement are briefly reviewed.

The present ceasefire, like the one negotiated in May last year, has three phases. During the first phase, covering six weeks from January 19, Hamas will release 33 hostages in several batches. In return, Israel will release several hundred Palestinians kept in prison, also in batches. Both sides will release children and women on priority basis. The lists of persons to be released have to be sent in advance for vetting by each side.

The second term in the agreement for the first phase provides for withdrawal of Israeli army from densely populated areas like northern Gaza and allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their former places of residence.

Under the third clause, about 600 trucks would be allowed to enter Gaza, carrying food, fuel, medicine and other essential items.

Except the second, the other two terms can be complied with by both parties without much hitch. The second is somewhat sensitive because Israeli army may regard withdrawal as surrender to Hamas. Here political leadership will play a big role. The Israeli cabinet, comprising extreme rightists, is divided over the ceasefire issue. One coalition party has already resigned from the cabinet. The second extremist party in the coalition has given notice and is bidding for time. Much depends on the political will of prime minister Netenyahu and his skill for manoeuvring. This, in turn, will depend on his motivation. If he is concerned with only saving his skin by staying in power with the help of extremists, he may renege on the ceasefire even during the first phase. But it is quite probable that he will take a chance during the first phase on this issue hoping to counter the pressure from coalition extremist parties with the release of Israelis kept as hostages for nearly a year and a half. The demand for their release has become a popular movement which none of the political parties can go on ignoring. So, the willingness of Israeli politicians, even if with reservations, can be expected to play a role in keeping the ceasefire alive and well. As regards Hamas, there is no problem for them with releasing the hostages if there is reciprocity from the Israeli side in releasing Palestinian prisoners according to agreed numbers. But their compliance with the terms of ceasefire deal will also depend on the withdrawal of Israeli army from northern Gaza.

The second phase of the ceasefire agreement gains in complexity as it envisages release of remaining Israeli hostages and of Palestinian prisoners by concerned parties, complete withdrawal of Israeli army from Gaza, including Philadelphi corridor and holding discussions on establishment of permanent peace in the region. Here again, the withdrawal of Israeli army completely from Gaza is problematic for the same reason mentioned above. The question of who will represent the Palestinians in the peace talks can become a stumbling bloc as Hamas is likely to assert its right to represent the Gazan Palestinians. The fact that there has been no popular protest against their role in the war in Gaza strengthens their case. By all appearances, the Palestinians feel proud of their patriotism and determination to resist Israeli occupation. In contrast, the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank lacks popular support for its submissive role vis-à-vis Israel and rampant corruption. America and Israel should realise that without Hamas participation in peace talks a permanent political settlement will be elusive.

During the third and final phase the remains of the dead hostages will be returned by Hamas and reconstruction of Gaza will take place. For the implementation of the first part, no problem is foreseen other than the wilful scuttling of the ceasefire deal by Israel. As regards reconstruction of Gaza, since it will take years for completion, temporary shelters for Gazans have to be provided, complete with civic and medical facilities. Several tent towns, each self-sufficient to meet the needs of its residents, have to be built in various parts of Gaza strip. Any idea of relocating the Gazans elsewhere, as is being casually bandied about now, runs into the face of reality. If not a single Gazan family tried to leave their homeland under round the clock bombing by Israelis during the past one year and a half, how can they be expected to be willing to go to another place now? The Palestinians in Gaza love their homeland and no amount of inducement or coercion will succeed in weaning them away from their soil. This should be recognised as a tribute to their sufferings, courage and fortitude. The heroism of ordinary Palestinians that has made them survivors of one of the horrifying genocide in history is of epic proportions. To ask them to move out in the name of reconstruction of Gaza would be a humiliation and agony that they do not deserve.

Now an attempt can be made to answer the question as to what led prime minister Natanyahu to accept the ceasefire deal that he had rejected in May last year. President Trump is a transactional man, having learnt the essence of deal making in his real estate business. At the heart of deal making is give and take. In the ceasefire deal not only carrots were used but also stick. Using the latter, Trump may have told Netanyahu through his emissary that unless he agreed to the deal arms shipment would be halted and his government would go along with the order of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and arrest him. But more than the stick, President Trump may have used the carrot of recognising the annexation of West Bank just as he did in the case of Golan Heights during his first term. That this is not a figment of imagination is borne out by the fact that on the first day in office as President he reversed the decision of President Biden and cancelled imposition of sanctions on 17 settlers and 16 entities in the occupied West Bank. This clearly paves the way to the annexation of West Bank, as a whole or in part, by Israel and anointing of the same by Trump administration. If Netanyahu is rewarded with this 'crown in the jewel', he can entice back the right-wing members of Knesset who have revolted over the ceasefire. The world will not have to wait for long to see if this is going to happen.

This write-up may be concluded by referring to the familiar reactions of Israeli government about the maltreatment of Israeli hostages at the hands of Hamas during their captivity. This would be a blatant lie, not substantiated by evidence. On the contrary, the smiling faces of the first three female hostages, in good health and clean clothes, prove that even under the most trying circumstances of constant bombardment and disruption of food and medicine supplies, the hostages were well looked after. The three hostages released looked cheerful and not at all indignant at their captors. They even accepted the small bag of gift given by Hamas gracefully and not perfunctorily and carried it all the way home. What better evidence can be there about the humane treatment of hostages by a group constantly being hunted down and forced to be on the run.

A ceasefire has been reached in Gaza. After a prolonged armed conflict that saw 47,000 Palestinians dead and hundreds of thousands injured and ninety per cent of infrastructures in Gaza reduced to rubbles, a window of opportunity has opened to make a clean break with the past. Whether this will happen depends largely on the goodwill of America and good sense of Israel. The Palestinians, as usual, are at the receiving end.​

 

[Bilal9]

I don't live in India. You and your wife do

Guys - please on topic posts only.

 

[Sharma Ji]