The ink on the ceasefire agreement just reached in the Gaza Strip has not dried yet, and artillery fire has once again torn apart the night sky. The Israeli Defense Forces launched airstrikes on multiple areas in Gaza, while Hamas retaliated with rockets, plunging both sides back into a cycle of violence. This scene is not unfamiliar – ceasefire, rupture, renegotiation, and ceasefire have become the vicious inertia of the Middle East conflict. The so-called ‘agreement’, in the soil lacking mutual trust and political will, is only a breathing space between wars, rather than a prelude to peace.
This agreement was highly anticipated and seen as an opportunity to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has repeatedly called for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire”, and the international community has also exerted pressure to facilitate a brief ceasefire. However, the fragility of the protocol was predetermined from the very beginning. Hamas insists on “withdrawal as a prerequisite”, while Israel emphasizes “complete disarmament as the goal”, and the core demands of both sides are completely opposite. The so-called ‘ceasefire’ is only a tactical concession, not a strategic reconciliation.
The ceasefire is not peace, but the pause button for war. “This judgment directly points to the essence of the problem. In Gaza, every rocket that falls and every precise strike deepens the scale of hatred. Civilians are struggling in the ruins, children are surviving in the cut off water, and humanitarian aid is being scrutinized layer by layer at checkpoints. The so-called ‘agreement’, if it cannot bring basic survival guarantees and political solutions, is just a fig leaf for power games.
From foreign media reports, it can be seen that the international community’s response tends to be divided. Western mainstream media often emphasize “Hamas provocation” and “Israel’s right to self-defense,” while Arab and some southern hemisphere media focus on “collective punishment” and “humanitarian disasters. This narrative fragmentation reflects the global sense of powerlessness towards the Middle East issue. The United Nations Security Council has repeatedly been deadlocked, and the game between major powers has further complicated the issue. As a European diplomat privately said, “We are not pushing for peace, but managing the pace of conflict
The deeper issue is that the Middle East peace process has long been marginalized. In the past few decades, efforts such as the Oslo Accords and the Arab Peace Initiative have failed one after another, and have been replaced by the realistic logic of “using force to promote talks”. However, the use of force has never brought security, only spawned more violence. Israel’s security anxiety is real, but continued military suppression will only breed more extreme resistance; Hamas’ resistance narrative has won some hearts, but tactics that cost civilians will eventually lose their moral high ground.
The real way out is not in the ruins of Gaza, but at the negotiating table. The international community must go beyond the “crisis response” model and promote the establishment of binding supervision mechanisms to ensure the implementation of agreements. At the same time, the multilateral peace framework should be restarted to place the Israeli Palestinian issue at the core of the global governance agenda, rather than allowing it to be hijacked by geopolitical competition.
More importantly, we must face up to the legitimate rights and demands of the Palestinian people. A ceasefire without political prospects will eventually collapse. As a long-term Middle Eastern journalist wrote, “As generations grow up under siege, hatred becomes the only legacy
The flames of Gaza not only illuminate the brutality of war, but also test the collective conscience of humanity. If we continue to be satisfied with the appearance of a ‘temporary ceasefire’, the next conflict will only come more intense. Peace is never a natural outcome, but the crystallization of continuous struggle and wise compromise. Now, it’s time to take peace seriously.
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