Israel-Hamas: ceasefire and civilians’ disenchantment

The ruins of a house The ruins of a house Photo by Matthias Groeneveld on Pexels

 

21 May 2021

Israel and Hamas have agreed on a truce: nevertheless, civilians remain sceptical as their suffering continues 

After 11 days of ruthless violence, Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have agreed on a ceasefire-deal, which came into effect last Friday at 2.00 a.m. local time. Nonetheless, a few hours after the announcement of ceasefire by leaders of the warring parties, a clash between Palestinians rioters and Israeli police officers highlighted the fragility of the truce.

In these last two weeks, Israelis and Palestinians faced the most heinous hostilities in years, severely impacting civilian populations on both sides. On one hand, Gaza’s Health ministry announced that at least 243 people lost their lives in the Strip during the conflict, including more than 100 women and children. Contrarily, the Israeli medical service stated that 12 civilians were killed in Israel, including two children. In addition to the death tolls, hundreds of Palestinians and Israeli have lost their homes and are now struggling to access facilities they need to survive.

Whereas many people took to the streets to celebrate the ceasefire-deal, other civilians who have suffered enormous losses remain sceptical about the effectiveness of the truce. Samira Abdallah Naseer, a woman who must look after her 11 children after losing the family house, bitterly asks what truce really means. 

Sharing these same feelings of disenchantment, the 25 years old student Dan Kiri states that the next military operation in Gaza is only a matter of time, regardless of any formal agreement between the two parties.

In light of the aftermath of these days of conflict, the international community cannot settle for the mere suspension of the hostilities. On the contrary, it has to commit itself to provide civilians of both sides with the humanitarian assistance they need to restore their lives.   

 

To read more, please visit:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-57195537

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/57200843

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-truce-between-israel-hamas-begins-mediated-by-egypt-2021-05-20/

 

Writer: Gianpaolo Mascaro; Editor: Emily Herstine

 

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