From Beirut to Gaza, ceasefire that legitimises war: Washington calls for truce, Israel continues to kill

A ceasefire in Lebanon in 2024, followed by a ceasefire in Gaza in 2025. The Israeli war machine, on paper, agreed to peace, but it continues its assault on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. As peace talks continue in Egypt between Hamas and Israel over Trump's supposed ‘peace plan’, 10 people, including three aid seekers, were killed by Israeli forces on October 6. This draws parallels with another Middle Eastern conflict, between Israel and Lebanon, where a ceasefire was agreed, but severe violations and incessant bombings are still being carried out by Israel. Reducing the ceasefire to a mere performance that institutionalises and justifies the ongoing aggression.

Lebanon ceasefire -2024

On November 27, 2024, almost a year ago, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France. The deal was simple: Hezbollah would withdraw to the North of the Litani River, and the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Lebanese Security Forces could only continue to exist in the South of the Litani River, and Israel would withdraw its forces outside of the blue line in 60 days, in a phased manner. But within three hours of the agreement, Lebanese media reported that Israeli Forces fired on the Southern Lebanese town of Khiam and wounded video journalists from AP and Sputnik. Israel claims that Lebanese commanders entered the border town of Kafar Kila, but no reports of arrest or shooting were provided. Just within 6 days, Israel violated the ceasefire 52 times, killing at least 15, including civilians. As of now, independent trackers confirm over 4,500 ceasefire violations from Israel

Gaza peace plans

Qatari and Egyptian mediators on both sides are working to achieve a peace deal between Israel and Hamas. But several details become major sticking points. For example, Israel says there has been no cease-fire in place and its military continues to act for “defensive purposes”. Since Friday, when US President Donald Trump urged Israel to stop bombing, Israel has killed 104 and continued to bomb across the territory.

Domestically, Israel is boiling; a peace with Hamas would see the Knesset fall. Netanyahu's coalition partner, Itmar Ben Gvir, has threatened, ‘We will not be part of a national defeat that will bring eternal shame’, and they will quit the coalition. Itamar Ben Gvir and Benjamin Netanyahu, and their right-wing parties had previously, following the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1995 had created an atmosphere of hatred and hostility which led to the assassination of the then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. There was one instance when Ben Gvir said on national television, "We got to his car, and we'll get to him too."

Moreover, Israeli media reported that Israel plans to control 25 per cent of the Gaza Strip and maintain security control for an indefinite time. “It is very likely that this is a trap set by Trump and Netanyahu for Hamas," said Tamir Morag, Diplomatic correspondent of Channel 14 of Israel. The report added that Washington understands Israel's need to maintain security control over Gaza. It plans to keep a vast barren strip along the Gaza coastline. Israeli state broadcaster KAN reported that Israel intends to hold on to the Philadelphi Corridor at the Egypt-Gaza border, Hill 70” (Tal al-70 or Tal al-Mantar), a hill east of Shujaiya in Gaza City. The hill is at an altitude and is a surveillance point for Gaza City; a panopticon to monitor Gaza, like an open-air prison.