What Does A Real Ceasefire Look Like?
Months after “Israel” announced a ceasefire in Gaza, its colonial project continues to expand behind the scenes. This supposed period of calm sets the perfect performative framework for a humanitarian image. Over the past two decades, in which Gaza has been imposed to a siege and blockade, the Zionist Entity has shown this pattern of subtle subjugations when mass bombings aren’t being globally televised and scrutinized. Just as has been the case long before October 7, cancer patients in Gaza are still barred from receiving outside treatment, which is even worse now that all of the Strip’s hospitals have been bombed and the siege is preventing the large scale reconstruction needed which, like humanitarian aid involving food and medicine, is the bare minimum needed for the general population of Gaza.
The “Israeli” occupation’s army has imposed so-called yellow lines to redirect Gazans into certain zones and systematically prevent them from coming home. It is important to remember that the Gaza Strip as a whole was systematically planned by the British and the early Zionist forces to effectively ethnically cleanse Palestine and prevent the return of Palestinian refugees, hence the construction of the Kibbutzim that Hamas took over on October 7. Likewise, the long term objective of this division is to re-establish Zionist control of the territory, which it has previously failed to achieve, leading to the withdrawal of their settlers.
Just recently, an “Israeli” airstrike wiped out an entire family that was already displaced and seeking shelter despite a ceasefire. Citing “security reasons,” the Zionist Entity continues to restrict aid and humanitarian groups into the Strip — including Doctors without Borders and Defense for Children International — which has been consistent with its broader “dietary” policy of limiting the calories needed to the minimum to prevent mass starvation.
The “Israeli” Navy recently shot and killed a fisherman off the coast of Gaza for going beyond the six-nautical mile restriction, which fishermen often have to go beyond to adequately fish and support their families. In addition, the army and settlers are both collaborating to prevent aid from entering Gaza as only a quarter of aid trucks initially agreed upon in negotiations have entered the Strip.
This all plays part of a larger plan to stifle resistance efforts and to shift the general population’s blame towards the fighters rather than the original source of oppression. One big glaring problem that is often ignored amidst all of this is prisoner exchanges. As exemplified in early November 2023, a true ceasefire involves both the flow of needed aid into the Strip as well as the release of Palestinians wrongfully held in “Israeli” prisons and detention centers in exchange for Zionist captives captured during Hamas’ breakthrough operation — the majority of whom are soldiers, thus making them legitimate prisoners of war.
On October 7, Hamas offered to release civilian captives captured during the warfare operation in exchange for the Zionist army to not enter Gaza, which they refused. They continue to do so with every negotiation and offer over these past two years or so, including the assassination of negotiators in Qatar in violation of International Law.
As was the case in previous escalations and exchanges, including the infamous release of Yahya Sinwar, “Israel” will go at lengths to avoid giving in to deals and negotiations and would rather continue escalating violence than to look weak. The Quran encourages oppressed peoples to fight back as “persecution is worse than killing”. (Quran 2:217). This verse contextualizes both the nature of war and the real meaning of Jihad as well as the real reason why resistance groups aren’t backing down.
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