Despite signing a ceasefire agreement, Israel has continuously violated it through airstrikes, sniper attacks, and aid blockades—while Hamas has abided by the deal.
Amidst US President Donald Trump’s calls for ethnically cleansing Gaza and a US invasion, followed by the occupation of the territory, the Israeli military continues to violate the Gaza-Israel ceasefire agreement on a daily basis.
While much of the media focus on the status of the Gaza ceasefire agreement has evolved around the rather outlandish and colonial-minded comments made by Donald Trump, Israel has been getting away with murder inside the territory.
Roughly 15 minutes after the Gaza ceasefire agreement was planned to go into effect, Israel began violently breaking it. It was 8:30 AM (local time) when the deal was set to begin on January 19, yet in the last half hour leading up to it, the Israeli Hebrew media began to speak about the late handover of a list containing the names of three captives that were supposed to be handed over that same day.
It was declared that Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari was to release a speech at 8:30 AM that day, in which he would announce that until the list of Israeli captives was handed over his army would not abide by the agreement signed.
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However, for around 15 minutes, Israeli drones departed the skies and it appeared as if relative calm was to ensue, triggering huge public celebrations across the Gaza Strip to mark the ceasefire. Then, the drones returned and Israeli airstrikes were carried out from Rafah to Beit Hanoun, as civilians were also shot by soldiers in the streets. Ultimately, dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed as a result.
This occurred despite the fact that the ceasefire agreement contained no such stipulations regarding a list being delayed for a period of a few hours. In addition to this, Hamas had stressed that the list would be handed over shortly and the delay was due to communication issues on the ground. Israel did not care for the agreement they had signed, nor the assurances from Hamas, persisting with their airstrikes and arbitrary live fire until 11:30 AM.
In the following days, Israeli soldiers would again repeatedly launch airstrikes at will, destroy more civilian infrastructure, and target civilians with sniper fire. On January 20, a horrifying video went viral in which a 15-year-old child, Zakariya Hameed Yahya Barbakh, was executed by an Israeli sniper in Rafah. When a Palestinian man named Nader Ajlan saw what happened, he ran up to where the child lay, in an attempt to rescue him, before he was also shot at repeatedly and was forced to drag the 15-year-old’s body away on his hands and knees.
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The above-mentioned incident was only one of two such executions in Rafah alone that morning, at a time when the ceasefire was supposed to be in full effect. Another prominent incident occurred on January 28 when Israeli forces launched a targeted missile strike against a horse-cart, murdering three Palestinian civilians, including 5-year-old Nadia Mohammed al-Amoudi.
Yet, these are not the only kinds of ceasefire violations Israel has been committing. It has also been imposing severe restrictions on the entrance of aid and materials into the besieged coastal enclave.
The Gaza Media Office said, on Monday, that “despite clear agreements outlined in the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire deal, Israel has failed to meet its commitments and continues to obstruct humanitarian aid deliveries”.
According to a statement released by Ramy Abdu, chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, “Only 9,500 tents—small and poor in quality—have arrived in Gaza, while 120,000 are urgently needed. Hundreds of thousands remain without shelter, yet Israel has failed to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire”.
Abdu also said:
“Since the ceasefire, 8,500 aid trucks entered Gaza, yet only 35% reached the north, where needs are most urgent. Instead of food and medicine, many trucks carry non-essential goods for merchants. Gaza needs 1,000 trucks per day, but barely half of that gets through”.
The Associated Press (AP) was also shown a list spread to humanitarian groups by Israel, that listed goods that are subjected to “pre-approval” inspections by Israeli forces and are thus routinely withheld from entering arbitrarily.
AP revealed that while “desalination and water-collection devices, storage units, tools, tent kits, ovens, water-resistant clothing and equipment for shelter construction teams” need “pre-approval”, items like “Large tents, sleeping bags, portable toilets, heating pads and vaccines are cleared to enter the strip without Israeli approval.”
What this proves is that Israel is restricting some of the most needed items, while allowing similar items to enter without any issue. This is a similar tactic that was routinely employed to torment the Palestinian civilian population prior to the Gaza genocide that began on October 7, 2023.
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Another element of Israel’s blatant disregard for the ceasefire agreement is its treatment of the prisoner exchange. On the first day of the prisoner exchange, Hamas released three Israeli prisoners on time and as planned, while Israel decided to delay releasing them for roughly 7-hours.
Not only did it cause a massive and unnecessary delay, many of the prisoners were threatened with re-arrest against the terms of the agreement. This occurred as the families of the Palestinian women and children who were being released that day were fired upon with live ammunition and tear gas while waiting to receive their kidnapped loved ones. Israel also threatened the families with violence if they celebrated the release of their loved ones.
On just about every level imaginable, Israel has continually violated the ceasefire agreement, while Hamas has been careful to respect it. Not a single violation has been committed by Hamas, despite the daily Israeli violations.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.
