Mideast: Ceasefire At Last
Hasan N. H. Alzaanin
On Tuesday morning, January 14th, American news outlets began to report that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was impending. National Public Radio’s morning news podcast, Up First, delayed its characteristic theme music for a breaking news update. Host Steve Inskeep said, “as it looks at 6:17 in the morning Eastern time, we have news -- not quite final -- of a ceasefire in the Middle East.”
From early Tuesday morning until Wednesday evening, rumors and half-verified news stories blanketed the internet; Twitter was bloated with armchair analysis about who achieved the deal and how; meanwhile, American politicians took turns taking credit; hardliners in the Middle East, on all sides of the conflict, denied they had made any concessions and assured their supporters that the deal was maximally beneficial to their interests.
Despite the murky information of the internet media, with the benefit of a week’s hindsight, we can confirm a ceasefire agreement was reached by Hamas and Israel through mediation efforts led by the United States and Qatar. Israeli and Hamas officials negotiated by passing notes between offices in secret locations in Doha. CIA agents, US State Department diplomats, envoys of the incoming Trump administration, and Qatari statesmen urged both parties to accept the deal on the table.
The ceasefire currently in place is essentially the same as the one proposed in May.
Israel and Hamas have now agreed to six weeks of ceasefire; Hamas will release a third of the remaining hostages, and Israel will release an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners. So far, on January 20th, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners, and Hamas released three hostages in the first exchange of the ceasefire.
In the day leading up to the ceasefire’s final confirmation, leaders of either side claimed dissatisfaction with the details of the negotiation. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu confused reports with antagonistic responses to rumors. He claimed there were many details still to be agreed upon. Mohammed Sinwar, brother to the deceased mastermind of the October 7 attack, Yahya Sinwar, said from Gaza that he was displeased with making any concessions to his enemy.
Biden’s administration took credit several times for the agreement, most prominently in his farewell address delivered on January 15, 2025.
After eight months of nonstop negotioation, my administration — by my administration — a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas, the elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year. This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and it will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed.
— President Biden, January 2025
Interestingly, in addition to taking credit, he also implicated the then-incoming Trump administration in the final two sentences.
President Trump received a lot of credit from the media for the agreement being finally reached. Trump made comments post-election that if a deal were not reached before he was sworn in, there would be “hell to pay.” Furthermore, his team acted brazenly in the final moments of the negotiation.
In a sure-to-be legendary anecdote of eleventh-hour diplomacy, the new president’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Tel Aviv on Saturday, January 11th, and demanded to speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu. He was told that it was the Sabbath and the Primer Minister would be available the next day. According to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, Witkoff responded to Netanyahu’s aides in “salty English” and made it clear he had no intention of waiting for the Sabbath to end.
Trump’s approach to the negotiation table has brought him a lot of praise and landed him a lot of credit. Biden capitalized on this, passing some of the credit along to his successor in a savvy and selfless move. By offering Trump’s team credit and encouraging the media to attach Trump’s name to the ceasefire, he forces the incoming team to take on the responsibility for the ceasefire. Should all of the credit have been Biden’s, Trump could have let it collapse and placed the blame on his predecessor, but no longer.
Since the ceasefire has taken hold, several major events have provoked outrage in both Israel and Palestine. Israel began a large military operation in the West Bank city, Jenin, a historical refugee camp. Israel’s ceasefire is with Hamas, not with other insurgent groups in the West Bank, and therefore, the IDF is not violating the terms of the agreement with these actions. However, they have provoked outrage throughout the West Bank and Gaza, and the move was seen as another frustrating overstep by the occupying government.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Hamas militants, armed and in full uniform, paraded through the streets, firing automatic weapons skyward and leading chants of “God is Great.” Regardless of the actual level of support for Hamas in Gaza, the images that emerged post-ceasefire were of a Gaza where Hamas was celebrated and their fighters lauded as heroes. No longer were they cowering in tunnels or blending in with civilians, they were waving flags and firing weapons. These images infuriated Israelis to whom Netanyahu had unceasingly promised “total victory” over, and the elimination of, Hamas.
Tensions remain high. There are still many miles to walk before arriving at a lasting peace. Hamas’ remaining presence and support in Gaza increases the political challenges Israel will face to achieve consensus around a ceasefire. Hawkish Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, resigned from Netanyahu’s government over the temporary ceasefire. Hamas’ demonstrations of strength will continue to stoke fear and fury in Israel and diminish the appetite for peace.
Additionally, Israel’s brazen invasion in Jenin, unceremoniously timed with the Gaza ceasefire, makes Palestinian militant insurgents and Islamists appear weak. Both sides becoming more enraged is a bad sign for a lasting ceasefire. Militants and militaries appearing to have failed or appearing weak often makes them very dangerous.
In order for the temporary ceasefire to become lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians, their leaders, their politicians and men with guns, need to show mercy and courage. They would need to decide that peace and safety for their people is more important than any political mission could ever be. They may never decide that. They may decide so tomorrow. In search of revenge, victory, security, and nationalistic pride, Hamas has killed over 1700 Israelis and taken 250 hostage, and Israel has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, an accepted number widely believed to be a significant undercount. As long as the ceasefire holds, this tragic violence will stop until March.
Ceasefire at last in the battle-worn, heartbroken, and blood-soaked Holy Land. Ceasefire at last.
