Gaza ceasefire leaves unanswered questions

Since Hamas’ initial Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 45,000 Palestinian civilians and 1,700 Israeli civilians have been killed, according to a Dec. 2024 United Nations press release. On Jan. 15, former U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas, according to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

 As early as 1948, the Palestinian territories have seen destabilizing conflict between the Israeli government and independent Palestinian groups, according to the BBC. 

On Oct. 7, 2023, an attack on Israeli civilians — carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas —  marked the start of the Israel-Hamas War, according to AP News. Approximately 15 months later on Jan. 15, NPR reported that both sides had reached a ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement.

When asked about her thoughts on a potential solution beyond the current ceasefire, MSU political science professor Susanne Mueller-Redwood defended a two-state solution as the most promising option. She also cited demilitarization, self-governance for Gazans, humanitarian support and aid for reconstruction of the Gaza strip, as well as reduced radicalism in governments in both Gaza and Israel as additional proponents of peace. 

“There is no good short-term solution here,” she said. “Any possible solution would require long-term commitments to peace on both sides.”

Historically, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have — in part —  prevented this solution, according to a 2022 article from the BBC. At the time, Netanyahu’s government rejected “the idea of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict — the internationally backed formula for peace,” according to the BBC article. 

Encyclopædia Britannica explains that a two-state solution is a framework that aims to create “two states for two peoples.” The other proposed resolution to the conflict is the “one-state solution,” which refers to the idea of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs sharing a single state with full protections for people residing in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, according to Britannica.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel in 2023, violence had escalated in the region. That is, until Biden announced a ceasefire, according to the DOD. “To secure permanent peace, the Biden administration worked alongside regional partners — including Qatari and Egyptian mediators — to press all parties toward a ceasefire,” wrote Army Major Wes Shinego in an article published on Jan. 16 by the DOD. 

“The ceasefire is still quite tenuous and there is a high chance that conflict could re-escalate at any point,” Mueller-Redwood said. “There needs to be ongoing international diplomacy to maintain the peace talks. I do think that much depends on Israel at this point, since Hamas is very weak and Israel clearly has the upper hand in negotiations.”

For any long-term peace to come out of this region, “it’s going to take a really big olive branch,”  said Zach Knoll, an MSU alum and former president of the MSU Arabic Club. Knoll is currently pursuing his master’s in security systems with a concentration on terrorism from Georgetown University. 

When asked what he believes will come after the ceasefire, Knoll explained that the Trump administration’s goal is to limit resistance in the region. U.S. interest in the region has a lot to do with power projection to counter other super powers like Iran, according to Knoll. “It’s important for the U.S. to look like the peacekeepers of the region. Between trade routes like the Suez Canal, oil and Israel’s nuclear weapons, this is an area that is highly competed over,” he said.

Hamas has already released three hostages back into Israeli custody, according to an article published by CBS News on Jan. 19.

“The violence of Hamas may be more easily understood if their goals are examined,” Knoll said. In his opinion, the driving factor in terrorist activity is typically the “means to a political end.” 

Historically speaking, continued Mueller-Redwood, “Gaza has been settled by different ethnic groups for centuries and contains many important historical and religious sites. It is situated at the center of a region that has experienced much turmoil and conflict over the past century.”

In his final comments to the Exponent, Knoll further clarified his stance on the conflict’s future: “I do not believe that the ceasefire will bring lasting peace to the region. However, it is a step in the right direction.” 

To learn more about the history of the conflict, go to https://www.un.org/en/situation-in-occupied-palestine-and-israel/history.