Feigned ceasefire

In October 2025, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement after two years of continuous bombings, targeted attacks and a near-famine situation. The ceasefire was, obviously, meant to pause all acts of violence by the Israeli military and other armed forces in the enclave, to focus on unresolved issues such as disbarment and governance. Despite this US-brokered agreement, Israeli forces have killed more than 100 children in Gaza since early October, via tank shelling, gunfire, drone and quadcopter attacks — and this includes solely those murders that have been documented.

The scale of violence and brutality committed by Israel might have simmered over the past few months, but Palestinians are still living in horrific conditions brought on by lack of permanent housing, barred entry for international NGOs and a harsh winter coupled together with torrential rain. Hundreds of displaced Palestinians have had to weather a rainstorm recently that flooded their tents and brought with it countless diseases and extreme cold. Life-saving medicine also goes through extensive clearance procedures and is often denied entry on pretence of being 'dual-use', meaning it could be used by militant groups for military purposes. As for other essential items, including food, deliveries are frequently delayed as a result of Israel's clearance procedures and the ones that make it in are marked by extreme inflation, thereby still making it difficult for families to access sustainable nutrition.

The international community must question the efficacy of this ceasefire, which is achieving only a small fraction of aid that has been agreed upon, and is still imposing purposeless restrictions that only make life more difficult for Palestinians. While the United Nations Secretary General has identified impeded entry of essential goods, nothing has been done to rectify the situation yet. The agreement must be enforced to ensure lasting peace in the region.