Kathmandu, 19 January(RSS): On October 7, 2023, or 2080 Asosh 20, Israel faced an unimaginable incident. A few thousand Hamas fighters who suddenly entered from the Gaza Strip, bypassing a strong Israeli security presence, launched a fierce attack on a kibbutz in southern Israel and its surroundings. The attack killed about 1,200 people, including 10 Nepali students working at the Kibbutz Alumim farm. This is the fifth fierce war between Israel and Hamas since 2008.
Israel has never been attacked on such a large scale since its founding in 1948. Hamas fighters entered the homes of kibbutzim and brutally murdered everyone, old and young, including children and young people, and reduced the homes to rubble. Not only that, they kidnapped 251 children, old and young people and took them to Gaza. Hamas has said that it was forced to attack Israel in retaliation for the blockade of Gaza, the attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the forced expansion of settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel, hurt by this incident, launched a massive ground military and air campaign against Hamas on October 27. Western countries, including the United States, provided Israel with all kinds of financial, military, and political support and encouragement as it embarked on a campaign to completely destroy Hamas and free the hostages. The military campaign launched by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Hamas has also made Hamas’ attacks forgotten.
According to the international medical journal Lancet, more than 70,000 Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip alone from Israeli bombing. Although there are varying accounts of this number, the Hamas-led Health Ministry says 46,899 Palestinians have died from Israeli attacks. And more than half of those killed are women and children.
More than 100,000 Palestinians have been mutilated. Despite reaching the peak of the humanitarian crisis, the Israeli attack continued. About 2.3 million civilians in Gaza have been forced to leave their homes and live a miserable life in tents. According to media reports, 90 percent of their homes have been damaged by Israeli bombing. They have given up any hope of escaping this horror of war and have made many pleas to the international community. Most of the houses in Gaza have been reduced to rubble, the roads have been damaged by tanks and bombings, and there are no schools and hospitals left. Israel has been accused of trying to ethnically cleanse Gaza, and the International Court of Justice has indicted the Israeli Prime Minister and the Hamas leadership for war crimes.
Israel has also targeted Hamas leaders in Gaza and elsewhere. On October 16, 2024, Hamas leader Yaya Shinwar was killed in an Israeli ground operation, while another senior leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated during a visit to Iran.
Attacks on Lebanon and Iran
Accusing Israel of supporting the Hamas group active in Gaza, Israel launched airstrikes and targeted sites targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and parts of the capital Beirut starting on September 23, 2024. More than 800 civilians and a large number of Hezbollah members were killed in the process. Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Ibrahim Aqeel, as well as several senior members of the group, were also killed.
After nearly three months of military action, a ceasefire was reached between Hezbollah and the Israeli government on November 27. During this period, Hezbollah also pressured Israel by launching drones and missiles at Israeli cities. However, Hezbollah was unable to withstand Israel’s military might.
Meanwhile, Iran fired more than 100 missiles at Israel on October 1, 2024, raising fears of a war in the Middle East, but Israel did not immediately retaliate after pressure from the United States. But Israel was not in a position to remain silent, and it also claimed to have carried out airstrikes on Iran on October 26, causing damage inside Iran. A ceasefire, an opportunity for peace
The first ceasefire was brokered by Qatar on November 24, 2023. Despite attempts to make the ceasefire permanent, it was broken on November 30, i.e. after 6 days. During this period, Hamas released approximately 150 hostages under its control. However, efforts to make the ceasefire sustainable were unsuccessful, and Israel announced that it would not cease hostilities and would continue its attacks until all hostages were released.
Despite pressure from the international community, including the United States, over Israel’s extreme abuse of power against the Gazans, the Israeli prime minister did not budge. However, it was only after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States that Israel changed its policy and softened its stance towards a ceasefire. In addition to the Biden administration, Trump’s negotiators met in Qatar to broker the latest ceasefire.
The Israeli cabinet has approved the ceasefire proposal, which will be implemented in three phases. The ceasefire agreement will start at 8:30 am (Israeli time) on Sunday. Qatar, which has played the role of a key mediator in the ceasefire, has issued a statement urging all warring parties to exercise restraint as the ceasefire agreement will come into effect in the Gaza Strip from 8:30 am on January 19, 2025 (12:15 pm Nepali time). The ceasefire has been welcomed by Gaza residents and families of hostages.
According to the recently released proposal, Hamas will release 33 hostages it is holding within six weeks, including women, children and the elderly, in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. According to the BBC, Israel will begin withdrawing its forces from the Gaza Strip. Displaced Gazans will be allowed to return to their homes. Trucks carrying essential goods for Gaza will be allowed to enter after security checks. Hundreds of trucks carrying food and other essential goods are waiting to enter Gaza at the Egypt-Gaza border. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has called on the conflicting parties to allow unhindered and unhindered access to trucks carrying food into Gaza. “Gaza’s 2.3 million people are living in extreme food shortages. They need to be rescued as soon as possible by providing them with food.”
In the second phase of the ceasefire, the remaining hostages will be released and all Israeli soldiers will withdraw from Gaza. In the third phase, the hostages taken by Hamas but who have died will be returned to Israel and the reconstruction campaign in Gaza will begin. According to one estimate, even Hamas is not aware of the status of all the hostages. Although Nepali student Bipin Joshi was kidnapped by Hamas, Hamas has not yet revealed anything about him. However, since it is said that all hostages will be released as part of the ceasefire, it is expected that Bipin will be released safely this time.
It is not yet clear what will be done to make the latest ceasefire sustainable and to provide humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in Gaza. Who will now govern Gaza? Hamas or some other entity? This question remains unanswered, and neither Israel nor the US administration has said anything about it. The suffering residents of Gaza want to see an end to the repeated wars once and for all, but there is no disagreement that the only sustainable solution is a two-state solution.
