After 15 months of conflict, on January 19th, Israel and the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas agreed to a six-week ceasefire and a hostage release deal.
On October 7, 2023, a war was declared between Israel and Hamas, starting in the Gaza Strip but moving into Israeli territory. On this day, Hamas created an unprecedented attack on Israeli citizens at a music festival, killing around 1,200 people. A decades-long dispute over land claims spurred this attack. Hamas believes that Israel is based on Palestinian land and that an attack needed to be made to protect oppressed Israelis and to prevent further killings of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded to this attack with a full-scale air assault and ground invasion. Israel has maintained air, ground, and sea attacks, while Hamas has resorted to using rockets for their attacks.
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Since the war began, there have been over 46,000 Palestinian and over 1,000 Israeli reported deaths. There have also been over 160 journalist casualties. Both Israel and Hamas have also taken hundreds of hostages from both territories. A majority of the documented casualties and hostages have been citizens. Many Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, Qatar, Yemen, and Egypt have taken sides in the conflict and have supplied weapons and soldiers to their chosen sides. As one of the first states to acknowledge Israel as a sovereign nation, the United States has been one country working to help the two sides reach a ceasefire agreement.
Following the successful agreement to ceasefire between both parties, hostages are slowly being released. In an exchange on January 25, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for four freed Israeli hostages. This exchange is giving hope to the families of current hostages.
Global Studies and AP Government and Politics teacher Chandler Jackson said, “I believe that the upcoming peace could be the catalyst for a much-needed reprieve of conflicts seen internationally we can hope to see the ceasefire remain and put our faith that other nations will attempt to do the same thing.”
The ceasefire has been cause for a question in the United States: who deserves credit? Both Presidents Biden and Donald Trump have advocated for the release of hostages and are seeking credit from the public for ensuring that an agreement had been made considering releasing the hostages. However, some officials believe that this agreement is sudden, and Hamas had not been interested in reaching a deal until recently. This change can be attributed to Trump’s recent inauguration on January 20. Although it is still fairly unclear as to whom to give this credit to, the ceasefire marks a monumental moment in history and one that Americans should remember.
As for what is to follow the ceasefire, there are three main stages of the agreement. Stage one is an immediate cease of hostilities, a release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian hostages, and an increase in humanitarian assistance. In the second stage, the rest of Israeli hostages are to be released in return for the release of more Palestinian hostages. In stage two, the Israeli Defense Forces would entirely withdraw from Gaza, making the ceasefire permanent. In the third stage, bodies of deceased Israelis are to be returned and the beginning of a international construction campaign to help rebuild Gaza. As of now, it is unclear whether both sides will reach stage two.
