DaysofPal – A ceasefire announced on October 10, 2025, was intended to halt Israel’s devastating assault on the Gaza Strip. Yet two months later, the reality on the ground tells a starkly different story.
Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 500 times, killing at least 356 Palestinians since the agreement took effect. These violations have pushed the overall death toll in Gaza to more than 70,000, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly insisted that the war “has not ended.”
Analysts now say the ceasefire has functioned less as a path to peace and more as political cover, a tool that allowed Israel to continue its campaign at a slower pace while escaping intense global scrutiny.
A War That Never Stopped
“The essence of genocide isn’t only mass killing,” explained Muhammad Shehada, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “It is also destroying a population’s ability to exist together as a group—and that is being achieved through mass destruction, killing, ethnic cleansing, and starvation.”
In the two months since the ceasefire was declared, Israel has continued military operations across the enclave, obstructed the entry of critical humanitarian aid, destroyed more than 1,500 buildings, and expanded its control deeper inside Gaza, severing communities from their homes.
Instead of granting respite to Palestinians, analysts argue, the ceasefire simply relieved international pressure. As media attention waned, Israeli operations intensified without the same level of global outrage.
“It’s political theater,” Shehada said. “Everyone was tired of confronting genocide, so they accepted a façade of peace while leaving the underlying atrocity untouched.”
Lebanese Palestinian researcher Elia Ayoub noted a dramatic drop in media coverage after the ceasefire, calling it “one of the intended purposes of the so-called ceasefire.”
“There is far less pressure on Israel today than there was before October 10,” Ayoub said. “And there is no sign of accountability on the horizon.”
This reduction in attention, analysts argue, has provided Israel with the space to continue its campaign while avoiding scrutiny for ceasefire violations.
Human Rights Groups: ‘Israel’s Genocide Is Not Over’
Amnesty International released a legal analysis last week asserting that Israel is still engaged in “ongoing genocide in the Occupied Gaza Strip.”
“The world must not be fooled. Israel’s genocide is not over,” said Amnesty’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard.
The organization cited Israel’s continued killings, its obstruction of humanitarian and medical supplies, its role in inducing famine, and the resulting spread of disease, conditions that remain unchanged despite the ceasefire.
“So far, there is no indication that Israel is taking serious measures to reverse the deadly impact of its crimes,” Callamard warned. “Nor is there any evidence that its intent has changed.”
Even before the ceasefire, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini reported that approximately 100 Palestinians were dying each day from Israeli operations or shootings at aid distribution points. That toll continues, even if at a slower rate.
“Israel is continuing its genocide in Gaza, but at a different pace,” defense analyst Hamze Attar said. “The destruction of homes, the killing, and the attempts to prevent people from returning home are all part of creating a new reality in Gaza.”
Captives Returned, Pressure Not Eased
One of the ceasefire’s main terms required Palestinian factions to return captives held in Gaza. Hamas has since returned all surviving captives and all but two of those who died.
Israel, in turn, released 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned the bodies of 345 others, many showing signs of torture, mutilation, or execution. Yet Israel has not eased its siege nor its military pressure on the population.
“As soon as ceasefires begin, nobody bothers with details,” Shehada noted. “That gives Israel free rein.”
Analysts argue the United States, which helped broker the ceasefire, has treated the agreement more like a diplomatic spectacle than a serious conflict-ending mechanism. President Donald Trump declared, “At long last, we have peace in the Middle East,” from the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, words quickly contradicted by events on the ground.
Experts say Israel has long undermined peace agreements in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. Netanyahu insists his goal is to dismantle Hamas, but analysts widely question this claim.
“The goal is not to defeat an armed faction,” Ayoub said. “The goal is to ensure that life itself cannot be sustained in Gaza in the long term.”
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