A Fragile Halt

Both Palestinians factions and the Israel Defense Forces are putting a hold on their war game. Each party declares their own version of ceasefire. There is no mutual agreement between the two parties.

I never expected that this kind of condition would exist following a 22-day war on Gaza. I thought for sure that Israel would do what they can to bring Gaza to the ground. Looking at their objective, i.e. stopping rocket attacks from Gaza, then I assume their intention was to put a whole lot of fear in Palestinians living in Gaza through obliteration and massacre.

Nevertheless, each side decides to hold back. Olmert said that Israel have achieved its goals. Have they? If a single rocket were to be fired to Israel after this ceasefire declaration then wouldn't that mean that their "goal" have not been achieved? I'm not surprised if some Palestinians think that they have achieved a symbolic victory. They only need one single rocket to claim that victory.

I don't think the war ends here. Gaza faces a fragile situation where any false actions would lead Gaza back to December 27, 2008. Not to mention Israel refused any deadlines in removing their troops from Gaza. It's like having a bomb in Gaza waiting to be detonated. Gaza is still a dangerous playground.

Even if the war temporarily ends then Gazans are faced with more than a thousand dead, thousands injured, hospitals struggling, rumbles everywhere, homes destroyed, businesses out-of-business, food shortages, lack of supplies, and the list continues.

"He said Israel would "continue to do whatever is possible to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," and expressed sorrow for the deaths of innocent civilians. "It wasn't our intention to fight them or to harm them, to hurt them or to shoot at them," he said." - Hamas, Israel set independent cease-fires

I guess actions failed to meet words. :|

A dark future still awaits Gaza. Hopefully it won't last long. I'm pessimistic about it but neither of us can predict the future. At the very least, I sincerely hope that humanitarian aid would reach Gaza as soon as possible.

Reference:

• Hamas, Israel set independent cease-fires. January 18, 2009. CNN.com. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/18/israel.gaza/index.html; accessed on January 19, 2009.
• Hamas offers conditional ceasefire. January 19, 2009. Aljazeera.net. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/2009118123631230393.html; accessed on January 19, 2009.