Gaza ceasefire brings relief, but little hope of lasting peace, comments the Guardian in an article.

Many people – in Israel, the occupied territories, the Middle East and far beyond – will feel enormous relief at the news of a ceasefire and hostage deal. But the temporary nature of the pause in the Israeli assault on Gaza, coupled with the number of prisoners remaining in Hamas hands, means that any hopes for a definitive end to hostilities remain tragically slim.

The effects of the deal are already being felt across the region and beyond, but those most directly affected will be the people of Gaza. So far, between 13,000 and 14,000 Palestinians are believed to have been killed since Israel began its operation after the October 7 attacks by Hamas that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians in their homes or at a rave party.

Much of the north in Gaza has been rendered uninhabitable by Israeli bombardment and 1.7 million people were displaced. All are now huddled in the south, which has been without adequate food, fuel, clean water, shelter and more for nearly seven weeks after Israel cut off supplies.

Any cessation of hostilities and promises of increased aid will deliver only partial relief to the devastated, battered, grieving residents of the area.

A UN official who has spent six weeks living in a compound near Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, with his family told the Guardian on Wednesday: “I hope that once the ceasefire starts there will be a political solution, but it’s not clear yet… It also makes us think: what will we do when the war is over? Where to go when most people, and I am one of them, have lost their home? Where to live, when there is no infrastructure, schools, hospitals? It will take years just to remove the debris.”

A UN official who has spent six weeks living in a compound near Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, with his family told the Guardian on Wednesday: “I hope that once the ceasefire starts there will be a political solution, but it’s not clear yet… It also makes us think: what will we do when the war is over? Where to go when most people, and I am one of them, have lost their home? Where to live, when there is no infrastructure, schools, hospitals? It will take years just to remove the debris.”

The agreement will also provide only partial relief to the families of the 239, mostly Israeli, hostages believed to be in Gaza. Even for families whose relatives are not immediately released, the deal offers hope. But for the families and friends of the captured military personnel, who probably number around 100, there is the deeply painful knowledge that they are most valuable to Hamas and so will be the last to be released.

Ofri Bibas Levy, whose brother, sister-in-law and two nephews – aged four and 10 months – are among the captives, said the deal put families in an “inhumane” situation. Her 34-year-old brother is not expected to be among the first groups to be released. “Who will be freed, who will not? Will the children be freed? Will they be freed with their mothers or not?’ he said, shortly before the deal was announced. “No matter how it happens, there will still be families who will remain worried, saddened and angry.”

Although far-right parties have largely supported the deal, averting an immediate political crisis, many in Israel oppose the ceasefire. The Israeli military and intelligence services reportedly supported the deal with Hamas (…) but are clearly bound, like most of the Israeli public, to continue the effort to “crush” Hamas.

While the deal was being discussed in Israel, an air strike hit a residential building in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing 17 people, witnesses said. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies of two children being pulled from the rubble, one badly burned.

On Wednesday morning, the apps many Israelis use to warn of incoming rocket fire from Gaza also sounded an alarm.

One officer told the Guardian last month that he and his colleagues always knew Israel would have to pay “a painful price” for the return of the hostages, but nevertheless the “hero status” Hamas would gain by forcing the release of young and female prisoners from Israeli prisons eit’s a bitter pill.

Israel claims to have killed thousands of Hamas fighters, although it has not provided evidence, and to have destroyed parts of the group’s tunnel system. It also controls parts of the former Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza. But it is clear that much of the Hamas infrastructure is intact, and any pause will give the fighters a chance to regroup. The Israeli military says 68 soldiers have been killed in ground operations – and the task of eliminating the Hamas threat is incomplete.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised ministers and coalition partners skeptical of the deal that the military offensive will continue “in full force” after the ceasefire expires in four or five days. Yahya Shinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, has been described as the “walking dead” by Israeli ministers but is still, apparently, alive enough to give his final and decisive consent to the deal. The combination of Israeli rhetoric and Sinuar’s longevity it doesn’t make a lasting peace seem likely any time soon.