As the Israel-Hamas ceasefire lies on the cusp of its second stage, the pathway to peace remains unclear for Palestinians. The initial stage saw a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza’s territory, as well an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and an increase in access to humanitarian aid in Gaza. Or at least, those were the agreed upon terms.
Israel has been accused of committing over 350 violations of the ceasefire agreement by Gaza’s Government Media Office. This organisation is Hamas-run, but is referenced in the reporting of news outlets AlJazeera and Reuters. This alleged figure includes military attacks, gunfire, air strikes, intensified surveillance and the obstruction of aid.
The terms of the agreement’s first stage were laid out during negotiations earlier this year, facilitated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States. However, the specifics of the second and third stage were left intentionally vague, with the ambition for such details to be decided upon at a later date.
Now, that date has arrived. March 1st was the proposed date for commencement of stage two of the agreement, as well as marking the beginning of Ramadan for muslims in Palestine. Negotiations regarding the second stage are currently ongoing in Cairo – mediated by Qatar and the United States – yet a consensus has not yet been reached.
According to a source from Hamas, Israel is purposely delaying negotiations. “The second phase of the ceasefire agreement is supposed to begin tomorrow morning, Sunday … but the occupation is still procrastinating and continuing to violate the agreement,” the source said on Saturday.
Israel insists on implementing the US-proposed plan to extend the initial phase of the ceasefire agreement until more hostages are released, to which 24 are said to remain in Gaza. Israel wishes for this extension to include the Muslim month of Ramadan, as well as the Jewish Passover holiday, ending April 20th. Hamas, on the other hand, is pushing for the second phase to commence as soon as possible.
In the last number of hours, Israel has obstructed the Rafah crossing at the Gaza-Egypt border until Hamas agrees to a ceasefire extension. Four Irish aid trucks are among those prohibited from entering at the crossing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration released a statement on Sunday 2nd March stating: “in light of Hamas’ refusal to accept the (US envoy Steve) Witkoff framework for continuing the talks — which Israel had agreed to — Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be stopped.”
The statement went on to add, “If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences”. No further information was given regarding the nature of such consequences.
Egypt’s government, one of the mediating parties in the truce negotiations, condemned Israel’s obstruction of aid from entering Gaza, stating that Egypt “unequivocally rejects the politicization of humanitarian aid and its exploitation as a tool of blackmail”.
Israel’s behaviour has elicited great concern, especially as it is backed, both diplomatically and financially, by the United States. Since entering office in January, US President Donald Trump has been very vocal about his plans for Gaza. In a White House conference with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Trump expressed his ambition to “take over” Gaza and make it “the Riviera of the Middle East”.
Trump said “[Gaza] has been troubled, but what has happened in the last four years has not been good”. The ‘trouble’ that he speaks of is the Israeli’s occupation and bombardment of Gaza that has been ongoing for decades, a regime funded, enabled and encouraged by the US since the beginning of Israel in 1948.
Among statements made by the US President were intentions to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians by forcing them towards neighbouring Arab countries, such as Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
What many regard as the most shocking of the remarks made, Trump introduced his vision for a Gazan “Riviera”. Trump stated, “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out. Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area … do a real job, do something different.”
Days after this remark came a disturbing and unfounded AI generated video that was posted to Trump’s Instagram page. It depicted ‘Trump Gaza’, Trump’s vision for his “economic development” of the region. The video included a range of visuals including gold-plated Trump statues, money falling from the sky, bearded belly-dancers, Elon Musk eating hummus and Trump sunbathing topless on the beach with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
This AI-generated propaganda has not been received well. For Palestinians who are wishing to rebuild their lives after surviving a sixteen-month war and genocide, Trump’s video has elicited concern regarding the future sovereignty of Gaza and has trivialised the 48,388 death toll and the amputees in their thousands.
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Palestinian-American humanitarian activist, commented on the video. “This video, just shared by President Trump, is alarming and makes a mockery of all serious plans to change and transform Gaza. AI-generated illusions of golden grandeur are the last thing needed to promote meaningful change. Gaza doesn’t need casinos; it needs effective governance.”
Hussam Al-Sharif, a university student from Gaza, gave his reaction to the video in an interview with NBC. “We are not going to let you control Gaza. We have lived through hell – 500 days of genocide and displacement and poverty – and after that he’s going to control Gaza? No. We’re not going to let you.”
News regarding the progression of the ceasefire agreement can be expected from Cairo within the next number of days. Palestinians in Gaza await this news as aid continues to be obstructed from entering Gaza until Hamas agrees to Israel’s terms.
