Alex Snowdon examines Israel’s 125 violations of the 10 October ceasefire agreement

Ceasefire? What ceasefire? This is what many Palestinians living in Gaza have been asking themselves this week. It has been the deadliest week since the ceasefire was announced, bringing widespread panic and fear.

Over a hundred Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. This included 46 children. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s order to begin air strikes followed an exchange of gunfire in Rafah. This had resulted in one Israeli soldier being killed.

Israel hit hospitals and displaced families (many of them living in tents) in Wednesday’s bombing raids. More than 250 people were injured. A further ten air strikes – targeting Khan Younis in southern Gaza – followed on Thursday. More attacks, across several locations, took place on Friday.

By Tuesday, 125 ceasefire violations by Israel had already been documented since the truce was brokered just over three weeks ago. The number is growing daily.

Israel allows very little aid into Gaza

Since the 10^th of October deal, Israel has allowed some humanitarian aid into Gaza. But this has been at a much lower level than the 600 trucks a day (the minimum necessary for Gaza’s famine-struck population) referred to in the agreement.

Israel has also stopped tents and mobile homes from entering Gaza. This is a territory where over two million people continue to live in conditions of acute humanitarian crisis.

Israel has partially withdrawn from urban centres in Gaza, but still militarily controls over half of Gaza. It has still not opened several border crossings.

Gaza’s authorities have complied with the ceasefire deal by releasing living Israeli hostages and the bodies of dead hostages. Many of the bodies of Palestinian captives returned by Israel have shown signs of severe torture.

Israel’s repeated violations are wrecking any progress to reaching the much-trumpeted phase two of the ceasefire agreement. This would see the reconstruction of Gaza begin. It would involve a ‘stabilisation force’ being present in Gaza and lead to Israel’s full withdrawal.

Donald Trump’s administration has publicly backed Israel, despite the violations. President Trump said on Wednesday that the ceasefire ‘is not in jeopardy’.

Trump argued it was legitimate for Israel to ‘hit back’ when its soldiers were attacked. He presumably regards 104 dead Palestinians an appropriate price to pay for one dead Israeli soldier.

Qatar, Turkey and Egypt (the mediators of the ceasefire agreement together with the US) have been much more outspoken in criticising Israel. Israel’s abuses are putting a strain on relations with these countries and others in the region.

The simple truth is that there has been no ceasefire. Israel has constantly violated the agreement it signed, so far with impunity from the US, and it is failing to make the required progress towards phase two of the ‘peace plan’.

Netanyahu is influenced by competing pressures. These include international pressure to bring the genocide to an end, but (pushing in the opposite direction) the genocide is regarded as unfinished business. Since the deal was announced, we have also seen a ramping up of Israeli rhetoric about annexing the West Bank.

Israel cannot be trusted to comply with even the modest requirements of phase one of a weak ‘peace plan’. There is no peace in the present and little prospect of it in the future – still less anything resembling justice for the Palestinians.

This means that our solidarity movement must continue campaigning and mobilising, with a particular focus on the 29^th of November national demonstration. The British government remains complicit and the demand for a full arms embargo with Israel is as relevant as ever.