Why did the ceasefire in Gaza stop?

1. What happened in Gaza?

On Tuesday (18/3/2025), the Israeli military fired missiles and rockets into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Palestine. A total of 413 people were killed and 500 were injured. This incident practically ended the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

On Wednesday (19/3/2025), Gaza was attacked again. The death toll so far is 404 people, but is expected to continue to rise as many were hit by building debris.

In addition to civilians, the dead included the de facto head of the Hamas government Essam Addalees, Hamas deputy justice minister Ahmed Al-Hetta, and Hamas security chief Mahmoud Abu Watfa.

2. What was Hamas' response?

Israel and Hamas are actually bound by a ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar. The first phase of the ceasefire is from January 19, 2025 to March 1, 2025.

In the ceasefire, Hamas released 33 hostages they kidnapped in the Aqsa Storm attack on October 7, 2023. Some of the hostages returned as corpses.

In return, Israel released Palestinians it had imprisoned, both during the war and in previous years.

After the first phase of the ceasefire, the two parties should meet again to discuss the second phase. However, Israel instead attacked. According to Hamas, Israel executed its own citizens who were held hostage by Hamas.

The families of the hostages in Tel Aviv also think so. They demonstrated against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was accused by his people of ignoring the hostages.

3. Why did Israel attack Gaza?

Netanyahu has used the Gaza offensive to avoid a corruption trial. He has been on trial on three counts in the past five years. In the first, he and his wife Sara were accused of accepting bribes from a businessman to issue visas.

In the second and third cases, it is somewhat similar. Netanyahu helped the businessman and the newspaper editor, namely Yehdioth Ahronoth and Walla to occupy the leadership seat. The response was that the two media only praised Netanyahu.

December 2024, Netanyahu skipped court summons citing prostate surgery. This time, he used the attack on Gaza as an excuse.

Another reason is that he wants to restore the support of the right. Without the support of the right, the governing coalition will be fragile and Netanyahu will be out of office.

4. What is Netanyahu's position in the government?

The second reason Netanyahu violated the ceasefire was to secure his position in the Israeli government. He was able to win the general election by forming a coalition with the far-right parties.

The right wing opposes a ceasefire with Hamas. They want Gaza to be emptied and Hamas destroyed. Therefore, they threatened to leave Netanyahu's coalition.

The opposition parties were willing to support Netanyahu on condition that he continue the ceasefire and return the hostages. However, Netanyahu refused because after all the hostages were returned, the opposition still wanted him to be held legally responsible.

5. How does Palestine appeal to the world?

Arab and European countries condemned the Israeli attack and the ceasefire violations. The US supported Netanyahu's actions.

Palestinian Justice Minister Mahmoud Al-Habbash, who is visiting Jakarta, explained that the US only acts according to its national interests. Therefore, the world, especially Muslim-majority countries, must be able to find the right diplomatic language.

This diplomatic language must convince Washington that peace and Palestinian independence are in line with US national interests. Only if the US holds this view can the conflict end.