A Cease-fire in Gaza: Healing Wounds Will Take Years—and Much More

There are at least three factors and dynamics for how we may have arrived at this point of a real cease-fire.

The first is that Israel has destroyed much of Gaza, and staying in the area much longer may not achieve any military objectives for Israel that they have not already massacred their way to. There have been increasingly more protests within the Israeli military to end the war, in large part because the ongoing violence also leads to more losses within the ranks of the Israeli military in towns such as Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Rafah, places the Israeli military largely destroyed months ago.

In addition to suffering thousands of casualties in Gaza, the Israeli state has also been under mounting pressure within Israel from the ongoing protests that call for bringing hostages home, ending the genocide, and that also often call for the removal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is coupled with international pressure on Israel, especially after the International Court of Justice, in a case brought by South Africa that accused Israel of committing genocide, resulted in the issuing of two arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. This also follows a number of legal cases that have been brought against Israeli soldiers who participated in the genocide as they travelled abroad. 

This international pressure became unavoidable after President-elect Donald Trump said, ​“all hell will break out in the Middle East,” if hostages are not released by the time he is in office. Trump aides explained that Israel could get its share of hell too if the war does not end. 

Trump wanted to start his term with more stability in the Middle East and Netanyahu seems to have received the message, especially after Trump shared an insulting video in which U.S. professor Jeffrey Sachs criticizes Netanyahu, accusing him of dragging the United States into endless wars.

The timing could not appear clearer as the current cease-fire plan is expected to begin on Sunday, January 19, according to Reuters, just a day before Trump is inaugurated on January 20.

“Negotiators reached a phased deal on Wednesday to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the United States and Qatar said, after 15 months of bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and inflamed the Middle East,” according to Reuters. ​“The complex accord outlines a six-week initial cease-fire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and release of hostages taken by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.”

Although Palestinians in Gaza took to the streets to celebrate the news, we have to realize that healing Gaza’s wounds will take years, and years — and also more than just time. 

The end of the genocide is the start of a painful process of another kind. A war where people who lost their loved ones, which now number around at least 46,000 with an estimate of some 11,000 still under the rubble, will finally have the time to mourn. (The death toll is expected to be much higher.)

People with serious injuries — there are more than 100,000 people in Gaza with injuries, 20,000 of which need immediate evacuation for treatment because the health sector in Gaza has been destroyed — will have to look at their scars and heal.

People who lost their homes will have the time to realize their new life will move forward in tents, a situation which may last for years.

People who were displaced will have the tragic opportunity to go to their homes, often now in ruins. Hundreds of people in Gaza also went missing after October 7, 2023, and their families will have the frightening opportunity to look for answers about their fate.

Gaza needs a serious effort to go back to normal, and we need to also understand that the previous normal was unacceptable and inhumane, and that ultimately, the cease-fire is meaningless unless the systems of Israeli apartheid and occupation are ended, and Palestinians are able to determine their own path to liberation.

The people of Gaza love life and it is time to treat Palestinians with dignity. Israeli leaders and soldiers who were involved in the genocide should be brought to justice. 

Justice can only be served if war criminals are held accountable and if the international community ensures that crimes committed in Gaza will not be committed again — against Palestinians or anywhere else. 

In a statement released Wednesday with the headline ​“Cease-fire is the beginning, not the end,” the American Friends Service Committee put forward five demands, including ​“a transparent and impartial investigation into violations of international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.” 

A cease-fire in Gaza is hope, and hope will help Gaza heal and rebuild — but we also need fundamental change and liberation for the Palestinian people.