Last week Trump announced that his administration had finally negotiated a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. This was presented as some major accomplishment of his administration. He even seemed to think it could win him the Nobel Peace Prize.
In reality, this so-called ceasefire could have been implemented at anytime over the past two years. The reason it wasn’t implemented earlier was just to allow Israel the time to further destroy Gaza and intensify its genocide of Palestinians. To celebrate this ceasefire now, after mass murder, mass destruction, and mass starvation has been allowed to continue for two years, is a bit like celebrating a funeral after a massacre.
Of course, for Palestinians, any pause to Israel’s atrocities is better than things continuing as they are. Any increase in food and medical aid means people can finally get some much-needed nutrients and medical treatment to keep them alive.
But the details of how this ceasefire will be carried out and how long it will last are very unclear. Israel has repeatedly shown that they have no regard for Palestinian life, and are willing to break any agreement they make if it suits their interests. And the U.S. has been a willing partner in this genocide the whole time.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, the U.S. has supplied Israel with around $20 billion in military aid, the very aid that has allowed these atrocities to take place. As Israel intensified its attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and expanded its assault into Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, and Qatar, the U.S. has been there the entire time, continuing its military aid, with an increased military presence in the region to warn anyone who might retaliate against Israel.
So, the idea that Israel and the U.S. should be praised for this agreement is a sick joke. Israel and the U.S., from the Biden administration to Trump, should be seen for the mass murderers that they are. And this new agreement should be met with deep skepticism.
Most of Gaza has been destroyed. Official estimates put the death toll of Palestinians somewhere between 68,000 and 200,000 or more. Hundreds of thousands have been injured. Tens of thousands suffer from severe malnutrition. Many families have been completely destroyed, without any surviving family members, or sometimes with one surviving child left all alone. Israel has destroyed the vast majority of hospitals, water and sewage treatment facilities, electrical grids, schools, roads, and more. This ceasefire is being hailed as some great success, only after Gaza has been destroyed. In fact, this ceasefire is happening now likely because Israel has been able to destroy so much of Gaza. It’s easier to declare a ceasefire after so much has been reduced to rubble. And we can’t ignore the increased pressure on Israel and the U.S. to reach an agreement in the face of growing opposition and protests to Israel’s atrocities around the world.
The ceasefire agreement claims Gaza will be redeveloped and aid will return to previous levels. But Trump has appointed himself as the head of the so-called redevelopment board that is supposed to be created by this agreement. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have both stated publicly that they would like to see Gaza redeveloped without Palestinians. Trump even said he hoped Gaza could be developed into something like the French Riviera, one more playground for the super-rich. Is that what this redevelopment plan will look like?
Of course, this ceasefire is better than the continuation of Israel’s blatant massacre. But peace can’t just mean a pause in a genocide. It doesn’t just mean finally providing some relief to Palestinians who have been brought to the brink of starvation. A real peace could only begin after a total end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and the return of Palestinians to their homes and land, free of Israeli military rule. But that is a peace that can only come when all of the regimes that support this global system of oppression and exploitation are brought down through mass uprisings from below — that is the peace that we have to keep fighting for.
The only thing that may prevent Israel from resuming its mass slaughter in Gaza is if the forces that oppose genocide and exploitation continue to grow around the world. It is the poor, the working class, and the young people in the U.S. and around the world that have the ability to break the grip of imperialism over the Middle East, and who have the power to fight for a real peace, for a world free from genocide, oppression and exploitation. This ceasefire agreement doesn’t mean it’s time to relax, but it’s time to double our efforts to stand up against this system and all of its attacks.
