<p>The announcement of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement arrives amidst a grim reality that exposes the hollowness of diplomatic pronouncements divorced from accountability. Since the ceasefire commenced in October 2025, Israel has killed over 509 Palestinians and injured more than 1,350 in Gaza. These figures represent systematic violations of a truce that was never intended to bring genuine relief.</p>.<p>The pattern of Israeli conduct suggests a calculated strategy: exploiting the formal architecture of peace to continue a genocidal campaign while the international community looks away, distracted by geopolitical turmoil and shifting global attention.</p>.<p>The first phase of the ceasefire delivered virtually none of its stated objectives. Israel’s military continues to extend beyond the agreed “yellow line”. Aid deliveries have consistently fallen short of the agreed 600 trucks daily, frequently delivering less than half that number. The Rafah crossing, a critical lifeline for humanitarian access and medical evacuations, remained sealed until late January. Israel continues to ban international organisations from operating, maintaining its stranglehold over who can assist Palestinians and what can enter the besieged territory.</p>.<p>These facts shatter any claim to diplomatic achievement. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has established that humanitarian aid must not be conditioned, yet Israel persists in weaponising access to food, water, and medical supplies. Hospitals remain only partially functional, lacking the equipment and resources necessary for full operation. For Gaza’s residents, the distinction between war and ceasefire has collapsed. The violence has simply acquired a different label while the killing continues.</p>.Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza, patient crossings at Rafah halted.<p>United Nations experts have warned that Israel’s continuing violations threaten the fragile truce, yet their calls for immediate cessation of attacks and unhindered aid delivery have been ignored. The international community’s failure to enforce compliance reveals the performative nature of these agreements.</p>.<p>Israel retains comprehensive control over the pace and scope of all developments in Gaza. This dynamic ensures that any progress remains contingent on Israeli approval, transforming ostensible peace processes into instruments of occupation. Even rebuilding efforts serve to consolidate control rather than restore sovereignty.</p>.<p>Palestinians in Gaza express scepticism while the promises of the first phase remain unfulfilled. Residents anticipated that crossings would open, prices would fall, and attacks would cease. The reality has been displacement with no substantive change. For people who have endured years of siege and bombardment, political announcements feel abstract and distant compared to the urgent daily struggle for survival. Trump’s formation of a so-called ‘Board of Peace’ to oversee subsequent phases inspires little confidence when set against the lived experience of continuous violence.</p>.<p>Trump’s vision for Gaza’s security and redevelopment represents a continuation of the settler-colonial project that has dispossessed Palestinians for decades. The proposed International Stabilisation Force, coordinating with Israel and Egypt while training Palestinian police, threatens to replicate the security coordination model that has entrenched apartheid in the West Bank.</p>.<p>After more than two years of assault that saw the killing of at least 71,662 Palestinians, UN experts have warned that peace initiatives allowing Israel to retain militarised control over Gaza will not end occupation but entrench it. The international community’s complicity through silence proves damning. States that recently made declarations about recognising Palestinian statehood have offered no meaningful response to Israel’s violations.</p>.<p><strong>Rhetoric to real intent</strong></p>.<p>Violence in the occupied West Bank continues to escalate as armed Israeli settlers and soldiers intensify assaults on Palestinian civilians. The Israeli Parliament advances legislation to extend sovereignty over parts of the West Bank in clear violation of international law. Israel has instrumentalised the ceasefire agreement to continue its brutal campaign under a veneer of diplomatic engagement. The announcement of the second phase sustains this fiction while killing, starvation, and dispossession proceed uninterrupted.</p>.<p>The ICJ has ordered the dismantlement of Israel’s occupation. Implementation of this advisory opinion is long overdue. Member-states must act to end systematic violations of international law in occupied Palestine. This requires cessation of all attacks against civilians, unconditional humanitarian access through all crossings, Israeli withdrawal, including dismantlement of military sites beyond agreed lines, and accountability for war crimes.</p>.<p>The fragile truce in Gaza will remain meaningless without enforcement mechanisms that compel Israeli compliance. Palestinians deserve security, sovereignty, and justice. The international community must move beyond hollow rhetoric to action that upholds international law and human rights. Anything less condemns Palestinians to continued suffering while Israel exploits the language of peace to advance a genocidal agenda that must be urgently resisted.</p>.<p><em>(The writer is an assistant professor with the Department of Professional Studies, Christ University, Bengaluru)</em></p><p>(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)</p>
<p>The announcement of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement arrives amidst a grim reality that exposes the hollowness of diplomatic pronouncements divorced from accountability. Since the ceasefire commenced in October 2025, Israel has killed over 509 Palestinians and injured more than 1,350 in Gaza. These figures represent systematic violations of a truce that was never intended to bring genuine relief.</p>.<p>The pattern of Israeli conduct suggests a calculated strategy: exploiting the formal architecture of peace to continue a genocidal campaign while the international community looks away, distracted by geopolitical turmoil and shifting global attention.</p>.<p>The first phase of the ceasefire delivered virtually none of its stated objectives. Israel’s military continues to extend beyond the agreed “yellow line”. Aid deliveries have consistently fallen short of the agreed 600 trucks daily, frequently delivering less than half that number. The Rafah crossing, a critical lifeline for humanitarian access and medical evacuations, remained sealed until late January. Israel continues to ban international organisations from operating, maintaining its stranglehold over who can assist Palestinians and what can enter the besieged territory.</p>.<p>These facts shatter any claim to diplomatic achievement. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has established that humanitarian aid must not be conditioned, yet Israel persists in weaponising access to food, water, and medical supplies. Hospitals remain only partially functional, lacking the equipment and resources necessary for full operation. For Gaza’s residents, the distinction between war and ceasefire has collapsed. The violence has simply acquired a different label while the killing continues.</p>.Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza, patient crossings at Rafah halted.<p>United Nations experts have warned that Israel’s continuing violations threaten the fragile truce, yet their calls for immediate cessation of attacks and unhindered aid delivery have been ignored. The international community’s failure to enforce compliance reveals the performative nature of these agreements.</p>.<p>Israel retains comprehensive control over the pace and scope of all developments in Gaza. This dynamic ensures that any progress remains contingent on Israeli approval, transforming ostensible peace processes into instruments of occupation. Even rebuilding efforts serve to consolidate control rather than restore sovereignty.</p>.<p>Palestinians in Gaza express scepticism while the promises of the first phase remain unfulfilled. Residents anticipated that crossings would open, prices would fall, and attacks would cease. The reality has been displacement with no substantive change. For people who have endured years of siege and bombardment, political announcements feel abstract and distant compared to the urgent daily struggle for survival. Trump’s formation of a so-called ‘Board of Peace’ to oversee subsequent phases inspires little confidence when set against the lived experience of continuous violence.</p>.<p>Trump’s vision for Gaza’s security and redevelopment represents a continuation of the settler-colonial project that has dispossessed Palestinians for decades. The proposed International Stabilisation Force, coordinating with Israel and Egypt while training Palestinian police, threatens to replicate the security coordination model that has entrenched apartheid in the West Bank.</p>.<p>After more than two years of assault that saw the killing of at least 71,662 Palestinians, UN experts have warned that peace initiatives allowing Israel to retain militarised control over Gaza will not end occupation but entrench it. The international community’s complicity through silence proves damning. States that recently made declarations about recognising Palestinian statehood have offered no meaningful response to Israel’s violations.</p>.<p><strong>Rhetoric to real intent</strong></p>.<p>Violence in the occupied West Bank continues to escalate as armed Israeli settlers and soldiers intensify assaults on Palestinian civilians. The Israeli Parliament advances legislation to extend sovereignty over parts of the West Bank in clear violation of international law. Israel has instrumentalised the ceasefire agreement to continue its brutal campaign under a veneer of diplomatic engagement. The announcement of the second phase sustains this fiction while killing, starvation, and dispossession proceed uninterrupted.</p>.<p>The ICJ has ordered the dismantlement of Israel’s occupation. Implementation of this advisory opinion is long overdue. Member-states must act to end systematic violations of international law in occupied Palestine. This requires cessation of all attacks against civilians, unconditional humanitarian access through all crossings, Israeli withdrawal, including dismantlement of military sites beyond agreed lines, and accountability for war crimes.</p>.<p>The fragile truce in Gaza will remain meaningless without enforcement mechanisms that compel Israeli compliance. Palestinians deserve security, sovereignty, and justice. The international community must move beyond hollow rhetoric to action that upholds international law and human rights. Anything less condemns Palestinians to continued suffering while Israel exploits the language of peace to advance a genocidal agenda that must be urgently resisted.</p>.<p><em>(The writer is an assistant professor with the Department of Professional Studies, Christ University, Bengaluru)</em></p><p>(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)</p>
