Renewed peace talks have raised hopes for the solution to the Gaza war. According to multiple sources including the British Broadcasting Corporation and Cable News Network, peace talks between Israel and Hamas began anew immediately after the start of the new offensive of the Israeli military with “Operation Gideon’s Chariots.” The proposal of Hamas of releasing nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and Israel’s releasing Palestinian prisoners is promising and may help resolve the conflict. The Hamas-proposed deal would also allow the entry of 400 aid trucks everyday to food-deficient Gaza and the evacuation of medical patients from it. But Israel has yet to respond publicly to the proposed deal.
Peace is desirable. The continued military offensive will rather deteriorate the situation and hinder the resolution of the war, which has so far killed more than 53000 and brought unprecedented catastrophic outcomes. This will not only lead to the deaths of more people and an increased chance of escalating the conflict in the region but also can put the lives of those hostages who are now alive at risk of death. Peace talks — contrarily— may help end the conflict, save many lives and reach peace. While the new military operation has already led to more than one hundred deaths, thousands have died since Israel resumed strikes on 18 March after the collapse of a promising ceasefire reached in January this year.
Hopefully saying, Israel, which has demanded proof of life and detailed information about all remaining hostages, and Hamas intend to continue peace talks, which are being held at Doha, even if there is no agreement yet. But there are differential intentions and other challenges to reaching a ceasefire agreement in the ongoing peace talks. While Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, earlier promised a military escalation to occupy and control swathes of Gaza, force Gazans to the south of the territory and destroy Hamas, prior to the renewed peace talks Israel says that it would not withdraw troops from Gaza or commit to an end to the war. Consequently, uncertainty persists on whether there will be any ceasefire agreement.
Photo credit: https://edition.cnn.com/.
The renewed Israeli offensive needs to be ended and the ongoing peace talks, mediated by the United States and Qatar, need to be successful in reaching peace in the Gaza war, which started after Hamas’s cross-border attack on 7 October 2023. But steps are vital to keep the parties to the discussion tables. Talks may help bridge the gaps in different preferences. For this, the role of transnational actors including the United States, the ally of Israel in the Gaza war which has mediated two ceasefires that led to the release of hostages and increased the access of humanitarian aid supplies, is vital. But the warring parties including Israel need to seek a solution to the war.
Though a ceasefire deal is immediately desired to prevent further deaths, peace talks need to seek more than mere a two-month ceasefire. Ceasefire alone is less likely to end the conflict because of several reasons including the possibility of carrying out further attacks after the end of the ceasefire and the lack of effective mechanisms to such attacks. The inclusion of further talks, the cessation of all sorts of armed attacks and the release of all hostages and prisoners in the deal are vital and may help reach peace —more desirably.
But the vital aspect is the certainty of maintaining the ceasefire deal in the Gaza war which has been going on for around one year and six months. No ceasefire will be successful if it is not maintained by the parties. Pertinently saying, earlier ceasefire deals between the parties including the latest one which aimed at releasing hostages and prisoners, the cessation of conflict and rebuilding the Gaza Strip were also violated. The mediators also need to strongly focus on this issue.
