
Peace finally got a chance in war-wracked Gaza after mindless hostility led to the slaughter of over 48,000 people, many of them innocent women and children who had nothing to do with the Hamas militia.
Humanity died as most of them were collateral damage in the furious pursuit of Hamas terrorists, who drew first blood by massacring over 1,200 Israelis on a Jewish religious holiday on October 7, 2023.
The truce came into effect three hours after the agreed deadline as Hamas played mind games, delaying the announcement of names of the first three of the 33 hostages it intended to set free in the initial phase. The combined push of outgoing US President Joe Biden and his successor-in-waiting Donald Trump resulted in the ceasefire deal.
While Trump was the first to claim credit, Biden later said it was the same deal he had pursued since May last year. Trump's threat of 'hell to pay' if the agreement did not go through before his inauguration was the final catalyst for the negotiators to expedite it.
That warning was not just for Hamas but also for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the incoming Trump administration revealed.
Using hunger as an instrument of coercion was as abhorrent as the war itself. Yet, multilateral instruments failed to rein in Israeli troops in Gaza till the US electorate changed the game.
Among the mechanisms expected to kick in immediately is reopening the Egyptian border to send humanitarian aid. Also, the phased withdrawal of the Israeli war machine has been written into the deal. It will facilitate the return of the internally displaced Gazans to whatever is left of their bombed-out homes.
However, peace would be tenuous as even a slight misstep could flare up the situation again. Iran's weakened axis of resistance because of the Israeli decimation of Hezbollah and the abdication of Assad in Syria made Hamas see the writing on the wall. The Houthis alone in Yemen have not been subdued yet.
While Israel swore to wipe out the Hamas and smoked out its leadership, it could not obliterate it. Lasting peace doesn't come from the barrel of a gun. Only a two-state solution by carving out a separate Palestine can settle the West Asian problem. But that is easier said than done.