Story of the Week •
November 30th, 2023
Will the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Hold?
CNN
Last week, Israel and Hamas agreed to a hostage-for-prisoners exchange and four-day ceasefire. After two extensions, the ceasefire is now in its seventh day.
Hamas has released roughly 100 Israeli hostages, and Israel has released roughly 180 detained Palestinians.
Officials struck an 11-hour agreement on Wednesday to extend the ceasefire an additional day. Will it be extended again?
In an article for the Washington Examiner (Lean Right), Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) argued an indefinite pause "isn't possible." Newhouse writes that it was Hamas that violated the previous ceasefire by launching its surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, and a new indefinite ceasefire would "simply allow the terrorist group to relocate additional resources — within civilian residential areas — and prepare for the next attack."
In the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera (Lean Left bias), a Palestinian professor in Gaza argued that calls for a continued ceasefire are ignoring Israel's "two clear objectives in its war on Gaza," which are to "slaughter of the largest possible number of Palestinians" and eliminate any possible resistance movement "in order to maintain stability in this open-air concentration camp."
The National Review Editorial Board (Right bias) called the ceasefire agreement a "fraught" decision that could come back to haunt Israel. The board argues that stopping the Israeli offensive in Gaza at this stage "would only encourage Hamas and other terrorist groups to take more captives in the future, with the understanding that doing so will ultimately protect them."
An article in The Intercept (Left bias) broke down the growing faction of Democratic lawmakers seeking political "currency" by calling for a permanent ceasefire with strings attached, determining that some lawmakers are "coupling their calls for a ceasefire with conditions like the removal of Hamas, which is ostensibly Israel’s justification for its brutal campaign against Gaza, while others are using the word in vague statements that leave room for interpretation."
Despite the temporary agreement, the future of the conflict remains uncertain.
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More from the Right
President Biden is on a dangerous path negotiating for Hamas hostages
Fox News (opinion)
"Hostage-taking is how terrorist organizations negotiate with the West. Constant media coverage provides the oxygen fueling the speculation and highlights the non-stop attention on the hostages. While it importantly raises awareness of the kidnapped victims’ plight, it also raises their perceived value as a bargaining chip for Hamas."
More from the Center
Freed Israeli hostages tell families of beatings and death threats
Reuters
"Israeli women and children on their return from Hamas captivity in Gaza speak of being beaten and threatened with death, moved from place to place and forced to whisper during weeks spent with little to do, their families say. Most hostages released during a six-day-old truce have been rushed to hospitals out of sight in a country still reeling from the shock of their abduction during a Hamas rampage on Oct. 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed."
More from the Left
The Looming Threat of Israel’s Nuclear Option
The Nation (opinion)
"Well over 25,000 tons of bombs had already been dropped on Gaza by early November, the equivalent of two Hiroshima-style nukes (without the radiation). Under such circumstances, a nuclear-capable Israel that blatantly flouts international law could prove a clear and present danger, not only to defenseless Palestinians but to a world already in ever more danger and disarray."
