What Does a Ceasefire Between Israel and Hamas Mean?

Everything you need to know.

A ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has been agreed, 11 days after the fighting started between the two.

Tragically, since the fighting start on 10 May, 248 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, with 1,900 others wounded by Israeli air strikes and artillery that were targetting Hamas. In Israel, Hamas' rockets killed at least 12 people.

The impact on human life has lead to outpourings on social media as well pro-Palestine protests taking place all around the world including London, which saw 180,000 protesters take to the streets calling for an end to the fighting and the freedom of Palestine.

Conflict between the two states is confusing to say the least, and ultimately—despite both sides claiming victory after the ceasefire—no one truly wins when engaging in war that results in innocent people losing their homes, livelihoods and lives.

To help you understand the issue better, here is everything you need to know about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and what it means going forward for Israeli and Palestinian relations.

What does a ceasefire mean?

A ceasefire is when factions engaged in conflict agree to suspend fighting and agree to a truce.

In this instance, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestine was driven by Egypt after the United States urged Israel to throttle back their offence. 

Ministers in Israel voted for the ceasefire that began at 2am local time on Friday 21 May, with Hamas agreeing to the ceasefire.

The ceasefire is now in its fifth day, allowing urgent humanitarian and reconstruction aid from the international community to enter into Gaza to help.

Why are Israel and Palestine fighting?

Before Israel became a country in 1948, it was known as Palestine and was ruled by the British after the Ottoman Empire was defeated in WW1.

Within the land there lived an Arab majority and a Jewish minority.

After WW2, it was agreed between the allied countries that the Jewish people needed a nation of their own and the United Nations voted in 1947 that Palestine should be split into a Jewish and Arab state, with Jerusalem becoming an international city.

Jewish leaders agreed to the split, but the Arab side rejected the plan. The British couldn’t solve the problem and left in 1948, leading to the Israeli War of Independence.

After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared, leaving Israel with control of most of the territory and Palestine restricted to the West Bank and Gaza.

In the decades that have followed, wars and fighting have continued with this year’s conflict between Israel and Hamas being the latest.

What started the fighting this time?

The fighting between Israel and Hamas began on 10 May after Israeli police used excessive force on Muslim protesters in Jerusalem, storming a mosque and tear gassing worshippers inside.

Hamas fired homemade rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the holy site, leading Israel to respond with air strikes.

Who is Hamas?

Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist political and militant organisation that has been fighting against Israel since they began in 1987 with coordinated suicide bombings and rocket attacks.

The group governs Gaza and seeks to replace Israel with a Palestinian state as per their charter.

What is Gaza and the West Bank?

Gaza is a strip of land west of Israel populated by Palestinians. The land used to be under Egyptian control before the six-day war in 1967. From then it was occupied by Israeli military authorities until they withdrew in 2005.

The West Bank is the other piece of land that Palestinians are confined to. Located east of Israel, the West Bank is home to three million Palestinians. Since the six-day war, Israel have allowed Jewish settlers to move into the West Bank, something that Palestinians and most countries around the world consider to be illegal.

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Is there a solution to this conflict?

That’s the million-dollar question, really.

Though many peace deals have been proposed between the two sides, none have ever worked. The most recent one of which was prepared by former US President Donald Trump and rejected by the Palestinians for being one-sided in favour of Israel.

A two-state solution has often been touted as the best option to achieve peace between the two parties which involves establishing two states: Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestian people.

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Is there anything I can do?

Education is a great place to start with an issue as complicated as this. Louis Theroux’s The Ultra Zionist is a great documentary on Stan that dives into this issue.

Also, books like Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor and Where the Line Is Drawn dive into both sides of the conflict.

Finally, you can donate to not-for-profit charities like Preemptive Love who are working on the frontlines to help those people who have been effected and displaced by the conflict.

Header Image: NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty Images