Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks once again destroyed the Gaza Strip, killing more than 320 Palestinians in just five hours, and hundreds more were injured or missing. The new attack, fully supported by the US, shattered hopes for peace and ignored the international agreements between Tel Aviv and Washington.
Following more than a year of relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza, after bringing tens of thousands of casualties, Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States and other mediators. The first phase of the armistice, which took place in January, saw the exchange of Palestinians and Israeli prisoners. However, this phase ended in March, but the second phase had not started.
However, the second phase was not realized. Even during the first ceasefire, Tel Aviv repeatedly violated its terms by targeting Palestinian civilians, closing intersections and halting delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israel was forced into a ceasefire for several reasons. Despite the long and exhausting nature of the war, the decline in the morale and physical endurance of Israeli soldiers, and the lockdown in Gaza, Palestinian resistance continued, particularly in the domestic pressures from Israeli prisoners and political faction families against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyun.
Following the first phase of the ceasefire, pressure on Netanyahu’s cabinet was eased. One of his main concerns was the potential collapse of his ruling coalition, especially if far-right parties retreated in protest of further ceasefire negotiations.
Although initially established itself as a mediator, the US now shows full support for Israel’s new attacks. The Wall Street Journal claimed that former US president Donald Trump gave Israeli officials a green light to help Israel resume its attack on Gaza. Officials also confirmed that Tel Aviv had informed Washington of the plan in advance, but the facts were later confirmed by the White House.
Hamas has been warning for weeks that Israel is violating a ceasefire agreement mediated by the US with the involvement of Trump envoy Steve Witkov. The group accused Israel of intentionally obstructing the second phase of negotiations to justify resuming the attack on Gaza.
Hamas’s only request was to advance in the second phase of the ceasefire, but Israel tried to extend the current phase indefinitely. Instead of acting as a neutral mediator, the US strengthens its threat to Hamas, suggesting an unacceptable month extension of the ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli prisoners of war, and at the same time escalates rhetoric about a return to full-scale war.
Washington’s support for breach of Israel’s ceasefire agreement has once again brought its credibility not only as a mediator but as a signature of an international agreement.
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