Gaza Ceasefire Is No Peace, But Even So It’s ‘Huge’

Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal, the first stage in a 20-point plan to end the war. Does this, as Donald Trump says, mean we’re on the cusp of everlasting peace in the Middle East? Will we now see Gaza’s reconstruction under an Arab-led international force as both Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces disappear into the night? Not even close.

But no ceasefire could reach such ambitious goals alone. What it does achieve is to halt a war that has already gone on for far too long. The remaining 20 Israeli hostages still thought to be alive will be released from a living hell. More will come home in body bags, giving closure to their families. The killing of Palestinian civilians in a fight that long since lost the proportionality required for its continued justification can now stop. Adequate food and medical aid can begin to flow. None of this suffering was deserved or acceptable.