Ceasefire as Cover: Israel’s Latest Massacre Shows the War Never Paused

A ceasefire means not an end to killing and genocide, but Israel’s right to decide when and where it continues. Without accountability, there will not be peace.

This photo was made with AI.

A ceasefire has just been announced in Gaza. If it holds, it will mean—for the first time in many months—a brief respite from Israel’s relentless bombing and shelling. Families of captives will feel some relief. Palestinians may cautiously step out in search of loved ones or to salvage what remains of their homes.

Any pause in killing should be welcomed.

But true peace will never emerge from imposed blueprints or recycled colonial schemes. It begins with Palestinian agency—the right to decide their own future, to govern their own affairs, to rebuild on their own terms. Even under siege and occupation, Palestinians have shown themselves to be among the most resilient and educated people in the region, capable of shaping a just and dignified future if allowed the space to do so. Both Hamas and the PLO have long insisted that Gaza’s fate must be determined by a democratic Palestinian council that reflects the full spectrum of its society.

Anything less—any foreign-imposed “arrangement,” any occupation rebranded as “administration”—is not peace, but simply control disguised as compromise.

What we are witnessing is not peace, nor even the beginning of peace. It is a tactical pause in a campaign of ethnic cleansing—engineered to manage international pressure, protect Netanyahu from prosecution, and give Donald Trump a political trophy.

Whiplash by Design: “Noon” Ceasefire, Then… Not Yet

Both Israeli and Egyptian media announced the ceasefire would begin at midday local time. Families exhaled. Mothers told their children they might sleep without the sound of jets overhead.

Two hours before noon, the story changed. Netanyahu’s office declared the ceasefire would only take effect after the government convenes and approves the deal—and even then, implementation could take up to 24 hours. In Gaza, that kind of delay is measured in funerals.

“Israel treats timing as a weapon. The word ‘ceasefire’ itself becomes an ambush.”

And so it was. Just after the “ceasefire” headlines, Israel bombed a multi-story house in Gaza City’s al-Sabra neighborhood, where families believed they were safe. The Civil Defense said 40 people were trapped beneath the rubble. This is not an error of coordination. It is the choreography of cruelty.

Trump’s Shield for Netanyahu

The timing is no accident. Israel is facing unprecedented isolation:

• Arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.

• Growing sanctions from European states.

• Mounting global outrage at the brutality of its campaign in Gaza.

Netanyahu responds not with restraint but with delay. Trump swoops in to claim credit, dispatching envoys like Jared Kushner to frame the truce as his personal triumph. Families of Israeli captives thank Trump, not Netanyahu. The performance works for them both: Trump gets to play savior, Netanyahu buys time, and Palestinians remain trapped.

A Pause Without Justice

Even as the ceasefire is announced, the Israeli army has not been ordered to redeploy. Withdrawal is postponed, hostages are postponed, safety is postponed. In practice, it is the Palestinians who are told to wait—and to trust an occupying army that has never kept its word.

These pauses do not interrupt Israel’s project. They are part of it. Ceasefires are used not to end the violence, but to restructure it—so that displacement, siege, and erasure can continue under the guise of diplomacy.

Undeniable Pattern: Israel Violates Ceasefires Repeatedly

This is not a glitch. It is a doctrine.

• Gaza/Palestine → Israel routinely bombs during “truces,” or keeps the blockade intact while claiming a ceasefire is in place.

• Lebanon → After a ceasefire in 2024, France recorded dozens of Israeli violations within days.

• Syria → Israel struck Damascus in April 2024, destroying Iran’s consulate during talks.

• Tunisia → In 1985, Israel bombed the PLO HQ near Tunis, condemned by the UN as a “flagrant violation.”

• Qatar → In September 2025, Israel hit Doha, targeting Hamas officials as they were negotiating a ceasefire proposal.

• Yemen → In July 2024, Israeli bombs hit Hodeidah, killing workers and igniting fuel stores.

• Iran → Israel has repeatedly struck inside Iran, including April 2024 strikes near Isfahan.

Each time, the script is the same: declare a truce, keep the trigger rights, strike when convenient, then blame “hostile activity.”

“Tonight’s blood in al-Sabra isn’t an exception—it is the rule.”

This is the real test for mediators: if you cannot enforce a ceasefire, then Israel will treat it as cover for continued ethnic-cleansing.

Gaza’s Ongoing Catastrophe

Ceasefire or not, the humanitarian reality remains unchanged. Nearly the entire population of Gaza is displaced. Famine conditions—deliberately engineered through blockade—continue to kill. UN agencies warn that unless the siege is fully lifted, starvation and disease will persist even in the so-called “quiet.”

International law is unambiguous: the blockade is unlawful, the occupation criminal, and the ongoing assault amounts to genocide. The ceasefire does not address these crimes. It only pauses them.

What Real Peace Requires

We should welcome a respite in attacks if it holds. But we cannot mistake it for peace. Netanyahu’s coalition is already preparing the next phase of war. Trump is already claiming victory. Diplomats are already calling it progress.

Real peace requires dismantling the system of apartheid and siege. It requires ending forced displacement, restoring dignity, and granting Palestinians the sovereignty they are owed. Anything less is not peace—it is theater.

And yet tonight, there will be families in Gaza who dare to sleep without the sound of bombs. For a few hours, parents may whisper stories to their children without the ceiling trembling above them. That of course, is worth something. But it is not enough.

If we mistake this fragile quiet for peace, then we too are complicit in erasure. To honor the living and the dead, we must demand more than silence—
we must demand justice.

If you’re angry, then you should listen to Susan Abulhawa below.

And if you think this doesn’t affect you, wake up: