The devastating reports and videos of Palestinians returning home are nothing short of the scene in The Pianist (2002) where Wladyslaw Szpilman walks through a destroyed Warsaw. In fact, that’s the first scene I recalled when I was watching the latest news on Israel’s war on Gaza.
According to the Mayor of Rafah, the war destroyed 60% of homes and 70% of the sewage system in the city.
Israel and Hamas somehow worked a cease-fire deal for the first time in for the first time since October 7, 2023. It came into effect at 11:15 am local time (09:15 GMT). As part of the deal, Hamas released three female Israeli hostages and 90 Palestinians were freed from Israeli jails.
Palestinians are now celebrating as they return to their neighborhoods but no one knows how to return to normal life. They’re missing their loved ones in homes that are reduced to dust in one of the most intense bombing campaigns in contemporary warfare. According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, it is estimated that around 47,035 Palestinian lives were lost in the 15-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, leaving more than 111,091 injured. Some estimates place the death toll somewhere over 100,000.
Hamas wasn’t late to join the party. As soon as the cease-fire came into effect, soldiers of its military wing paraded the streets of Gaza in masks, holding assault rifles in the air. It seems to be a demonstration of their dominance in Palestine—a message of force to the international community, to Israel, and even to Palestinians.
The brink of hope in all the mess is that over 630 aid trucks are now moving into Gaza, as confirmed by OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke. He also mentioned that over 300 of them are going to northern Gaza. Humanitarian officials have previously warned that there might be a famine in the region. The New York Times further adds that this is the highest number of aid trucks to enter Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war started. Egypt has also sent 205 trucks full of aid which will first be inspected by Israel and move towards Gaza afterwards.
Palestinian Civil Defense officials reported that the war cost the deaths of 48% of its personnel and 85% of the vehicles. Israel has only left four out of the 21 Civil Defense facilities. Others are either damaged or destroyed completely. The agency further mentioned that they have started the search for 10,000 missing bodies buried under the debris.
Humanitarian agencies like The International Committee of the Red Cross are working tirelessly but with a shortage of equipment, vehicles, and fuel.
US President Donald Trump wasn’t late in taking ownership of the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. “Perhaps most beautiful of all this week we achieved an epic ceasefire agreement as a first step towards lasting peace in the Middle East…This agreement could only happen as a result of our historic victory in November.” Trump said on Sunday, at a celebration before his second inauguration.
He further promised the crowd, “I will stop war in the Middle East and I’ll prevent World War III from happening – and you have no idea how close we are.”
It doesn’t really matter who takes ownership of the deal. The only thing that matters is that war is not being waged right now. Gazans and Palestinians in general are getting the chance to return to their homeland, even if it’s a wasteland.
The next big issue is rebuilding the Palestinian conclave. As it stands, it’s nothing but a city of ashes, which I’ve mentioned in the beginning. International communities must ensure that aid enters Gaza safely, without Israeli intervention. They must also make sure that Israel and Hamas don’t aggravate the situation.
A cease-fire deal is obviously good for humanity; we’re all against war, aren’t we? Would any of us prefer a war over peace? I’d definitely choose peace any day. TWH always stands against war, no matter who’s in charge, who’s at fault, or who instigated it.
War is never the way to solve anything, it’s only a means to damage all parties involved. Wars must be avoided at all costs!
