Ceasefire After 467 Days of Genocide

After 467 days of genocide, it seems a ceasefire has finally been enacted. After the complete and utter demolition of the Strip, Israel is prepared to accept the terms negotiated in Qatar, allowing the people of Gaza to start to rebuild their lives, homes and communities; treat their wounded and bury their martyrs without the tension and fear of constant bombardment and massacres.

With Biden conceding to Trump’s presidency, Netanyahu facing spectacular military losses and the loss of public support amongst his own civilians, and growing general discontent amongst Western populations, it would seem that it now serves Western political interests to finally, at least on paper, declare an end to this genocidal onslaught. However, even with a ceasefire enacted, the root of the problem will still exist: the apartheid. As seen in Lebanon during the current ceasefire and the 4-day humanitarian truce in Gaza in November 2023, a declared ceasefire does not guarantee the Israeli state will follow through.

The damage done to Gaza is immeasurable. With 85,000 tonnes of explosives dropped, the equivalent of six atomic bombs, Gaza has been completely levelled. The death toll sits at a sordid 46, 707 and it will take approximately 90 years for infrastructure to return to what it was and that doesn’t account for the thousands of historical buildings, churches, mosques, libraries and artefacts which have been destroyed. Nor does it account for the environmental impact or the long term health effects, physical and mental, of the survivors and the generations that will follow.

Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, will still be living under Israeli occupation. With increased settler attacks, pogroms, and repression by the counterrevolutionary Palestinian Authority, the state will undoubtedly continue their repression of the Palestinian people if they are not made to be held accountable by their financiers, our governments. 

For violating international law; for the slaughter of civilians, journalists, doctors, and academics; for the destruction of civil infrastructure and hospitals; for the targeting of international aid workers and obstruction of aid; for the act of sodomy and the desecration of hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable lives; for the wiping out of bloodlines and countless insurmountable crimes against humanity — Israel must answer for its crimes. Soldiers who posted on social media mocking Palestinians must have their names and faces known. Settlers who spoke openly of their genocidal intent and glee over slaughter of children must have their names and faces known. They must not be allowed back into civil society, to travel abroad, to escape unpunished. When the Lancet estimates 40% more people were killed than the official number, there is no space for impunity.

Western governments will claim a ceasefire as their victory. They too must be held accountable for the lies peddled to the public, as well as the state media, which is responsible for manufacturing consent for the genocide through obfuscation and blatant misinformation. They must work towards reparations, not only with Palestinians but with those in their own countries who were fired, arrested, suspended and harassed out of their communities and institutions for supporting the right of colonised peoples to resist oppression. 

This ceasefire is long overdue for the people of Gaza who have remained steadfast and courageous in the face of immeasurable loss and will continue to do so in the days to come. For those outside, our work is just beginning.

By Sylphia Basak