RSS
If Israel Ceases, Will Hamas Fire? Remember That a ‘Ceasefire’ Existed on October 6, 2023
An aerial view shows the bodies of victims of an attack following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip lying on the ground in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, Oct. 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg
Over the last few weeks, a pattern has emerged in the media coverage of a possible deal being ironed out to end hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Israel is being frequently condemned as the primary obstacle to a ceasefire being implemented (See here, here, here, here, and here).
But what’s never noted is that, for one thing, the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of Israel occurred during a ceasefire.
More broadly, Israel and Hamas have agreed to over a dozen ceasefire agreements in the past. They were all violated by Hamas.
Also missing from the reportage is the fact that Hamas has vowed to carry out similar assaults repeatedly in the future with the goal of eliminating Israel.
Such crucial background information could at least partly explain the Israeli government’s serious reservations about agreeing to yet another ceasefire with Gaza’s iron-fisted rulers.
Yet because most casual news consumers are not being made aware of Hamas’ long history of ceasefire violations, they are likely to think that the side that is pushing for a ceasefire today supports peace (Hamas), while the side that is opposed to a ceasefire is only interested in making war (Israel).
Whitewashing Hamas’ Genocidal Goals
This is a quote from a January 6, 2025, article in The Guardian, titled, “Reports of optimism about Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal“:
Despite the latest talks, Israel has stepped up airstrikes on the Palestinian territory that killed at least 100 people over the weekend.
This piece and others depicting Israel as ceasefire obstructionists do mention the October 7 attacks, but they don’t describe Hamas’ motivations and goals. Instead, Hamas is regularly depicted as a rational, quasi-political organization that happens to include a military wing, and wants Israel to leave the Gaza Strip for no other reason than to be able to finally establish an independent Palestinian state.
As such, Israel’s perceived intransigence to a negotiated settlement is derided as counterproductive to the cause of peace.
In fact, Hamas has no interest in living side by side with Israel. From its founding, the terrorist outfit has been openly dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish State through jihad. Hamas states outright that it does not accept Israel’s right to exist, and pays lip service to the establishment of a Palestinian state as a mere temporary measure.
And while you’ll never see the words religious, or Jihadist used by top-tier media companies to describe Hamas, the organization’s entire raison d’etre is shaped by a fundamentalist, apocalyptic interpretation of Islam.
The below quote is from the Hamas Charter, or Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.
Media Memory-holes All Previous Israel-Hamas Ceasefires
It’s nothing short of amazing, considering the widespread coverage of developments related to a prospective ceasefire deal, that no mention is made of the many previous attempts at a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas. That’s because they all failed.
This is why history matters.
There is something appealing about a ceasefire in Gaza — especially in light of the hostage situation and suffering endured by Gazans who just happen to be ruled by a genocidal terrorist group.
But it would be foolhardy to ignore the fact that there is a long history of Hamas breaking ceasefire agreements.
Hamas has used Iranian support to launch several wars against Israel from its base in Gaza. So, to protect millions of Israeli citizens, the Jewish State was forced each time to respond militarily, including 2008’s Operation Cast Lead, 2012’s Operation Pillar of Defense, 2014’s Operation Protective Edge, and 2021’s Operation Guardian of the Walls.
And, of course, by committing the October 7, 2023 attacks, Hamas violated a previous ceasefire with Israel by launching thousands of rockets toward Israeli population centers, infiltrating the country, murdering Israelis, taking hostages, and using their own people as human shields.
Media Stifling Public Debate
One of journalism’s key functions is to help create forums for public debate. By not providing their readers with important background information about previous ceasefire attempts, and Hamas’ oft-stated goals that could be facilitated by another ceasefire, the world’s leading news publications are preventing a robust discourse on the issue from taking place.
Inside of Israel, that debate began on October 7. Reasonable men and women have divergent opinions as to the efficacy of a ceasefire deal. It’s the right of every Israeli citizen living in a democratic society to weigh in on this monumentally important topic.
Because they are well-informed, Israelis who support a ceasefire policy are also aware — from knowing about the previous ceasefires that went wrong — of the heavy price their country may well have to pay.
By not contributing to an honest public debate, news outlets around the world are effectively picking sides. That’s not good for journalism. And that’s not good for any democratic society that relies on an informed citizenry to survive.
Gidon Ben-Zvi, former Jerusalem Correspondent for The Algemeiner, is an accomplished writer who left Hollywood for Jerusalem in 2009. He and his wife are raising their four children to speak fluent English – with an Israeli accent. Ben-Zvi’s work has appeared in The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, The Algemeiner, American Thinker, The Jewish Journal, Israel Hayom, and United with Israel. Ben-Zvi blogs at Jerusalem State of Mind (jsmstateofmind.com). He is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post If Israel Ceases, Will Hamas Fire? Remember That a ‘Ceasefire’ Existed on October 6, 2023 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.