Gaza war: A pause is welcome but sustainable peace is a must
About a month-and-a-half after the Israel-Hamas war started, there is at last hope of the bloodshed ending, even if only for a bit. Israel has agreed to pause its military action in Gaza for four days in exchange for the release in batches of 50 hostages held by Hamas. For every additional 10 released, Israel has promised to extend the pause by a day.
Plus, according to Hamas, Israel will release 150 Palestinians held behind bars. That bombs and guns will fall silent if this plan succeeds is a relief not just to Gazans, who are in dire need of aid supplies, having suffered an Israeli anti-Hamas blitz that has left over 14,000 dead, by a Palestinian count, with children among them said to be four times the toll taken by Hamas’ terror attack of 7 October that sparked the war. Gazans need a breather.
To the rest of the world, this week’s pact signals a will on both sides to talk, even if only via intermediaries. This suggests a dip in the proximate risk of a wider flare-up of this war, which should calm markets like crude oil that take cues from it. What it implies for armed hostilities once this brief truce runs out is harder to judge.
Israel has reaffirmed its intent to wipe out Hamas, although it can’t take US backing for granted in perpetuity, given China’s opportunistic efforts to court those put off by America’s stance. No matter how the US views the geopolitical puzzle of West Asia, with its 21st century global rival looking to make gains at its expense, the peace that is eventually sought must go well beyond a return to what prevailed before 7 October. For lasting stability, the region needs a proper settlement of the Israel-Palestine dispute, a peace pact across old ruptures that the world at large can approve of.
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