PALESTINIAN KIDS CELEBRATE GAZA CEASEFIRE

Joy and relief flooded Palestinian homes following Qatar announcing a ceasefire agreement between Israel and H*mas.

This video showing jubilant children reflects the atmosphere in Gaza after 15 months of relentless Israeli military operations that, as of mid-January 2025, have claimed over 46,000 lives, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. However, the Lancet medical journal reported this month that authorities may have undercounted deaths by over 100,000 with an early July 2024 figure surpassing 186,000. The Gaza Health Ministry has said Israel has primarily k*lled women and children.

The latest surge in violence during Israel's 76-year occupation of Palestine has disproportionately impacted Palestinian children. A Human Rights Watch report from 9 April 2024 accused Israel of employing starvation as a weapon of war, resulting in severe malnutrition and dehydration among children, as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. Furthermore, Israel’s destruction of nearly all Gaza hospitals has exacerbated the crisis, leading to more child deaths.

While the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties that determine how civilians should be treated in armed conflicts, bar civilians from collective punishment, Israel has obstructed humanitarian aid deliveries and severed water, electricity, and fuel supplies to Gaza. An October 2024 UN report revealed that over 1.8 million Palestinians faced ‘extremely critical’ levels of hunger. Disturbingly, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich suggested it might be ‘just and moral’ to allow 2 million civilians to starve until hostages are released.

Under the ceasefire agreement set to commence on 19 January, H*mas will return Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, some of whom are women and children.

Yet, the memories of bombings, sniper fire, corpses, and blood may haunt Palestinians for years to come. Further, with Israel violating a ceasefire in Lebanon and the ceasefire drawn up early last year for Ramadan in Gaza, we can’t be sure this will stick. Do you think the ceasefire will stick. Please let us know in the comments.

Sources:

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202501/1326986.shtml

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/09/gaza-israels-imposed-starvation-deadly-children

https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-97/en/

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/06/middleeast/israeli-minister-smotrich-starve-gazans-intl/index.html

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1155836

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/10/deaths-from-israeli-attacks-in-gaza-undercounted-by-41-percent-study-finds

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext