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Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal ‘must not be a false dawn’, says Archbishop of York

16 January 2025

Alamy

Palestinians celebrate the news of a ceasefire deal, in the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday evening

Palestinians celebrate the news of a ceasefire deal, in the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday evening

NEWS of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday evening has been welcomed with caution, after overnight Israeli missile strikes were reported to have killed more than 80 people.

On Thursday morning, the Archbishop of York said that the deal was “welcome news”, and called for a “wider, more durable and just settlement in the region”. “It must not be a false dawn,” he said.

The deal, announced by Qatari mediators on Wednesday evening, is not due to come into effect until Sunday, and an Israeli cabinet vote to approve the ceasefire and hostage release was delayed on Thursday morning, leaving the future of the deal uncertain.

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that the delay was because of concerns that Hamas was attempting to renege on elements of the deal — an accusation that an official in the group Izzat al-Rishq denied, The New York Times reports.

Authorities in Gaza have reported that Israeli air strikes killed 81 people in the past day, including 12 people in a residential block in Gaza City.

Among the dead were Ihab Faisal, who worked for the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), his wife, and their two children. The PCHR is a partner organisation of Christian Aid. On Thursday afternoon, the charity’s programme manager in the Palestine said: “The ceasefire cannot come soon enough. It is already too late for so many innocent civilians.”

BBC News quoted a doctor in Gaza City, Dr Amjad Eliwah, who said of the night’s attacks: “For a little while, everyone was happy and joyful. Then the same people who were happy were dead.”

On Thursday afternoon, a statement from the Israeli military said that strikes had been carried out against 50 targets over the past day. Reports of a rocket fired the other way, from Gaza into Israel, were, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier on Thursday, a “false identification”.

Even before reports of further casualties in Gaza, news of the ceasefire deal was being met with caution.

Anglican sources in Jerusalem told the Church Times that the atmosphere remained tense. There were concerns that neither side was fully committed to the deal, and that, even if it held, it would lead to a deterioration in the West Bank.

Entrenched opposition to a ceasefire from some members of the Israeli cabinet was one reason given for caution: some ministers have previously threatened to quit the coalition government if the ceasefire goes ahead.

The agreement announced by Qatari officials on Wednesday evening consists of a three-stage process, due to begin on Sunday. In the first stage, lasting six weeks, 33 of about 100 hostages being held by Hamas would be released, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Negotiations for a second stage, in which the release of the remaining hostages is expected to take place, are to be held during the initial six-week period. The third and final stage consists of the reconstruction of Gaza.

The Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said on Wednesday that full details of the deal would be published “once the details are finalised”, and once it had been approved by the Israeli cabinet.

“We hope that this will be the last page of the war, and we hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement,” he said, pledging that Qatar, along with the other deal-brokers, Egypt and the United States, would work to ensure that the deal was a success.

In his statement, Archbishop Cottrell said that he prayed that that deal would be “a catalyst to bring freedom, justice, and dignity to the Palestinian people, as well as being a small step towards the long-term security of both Palestinians and Israelis”.

The West Bank, he said, had suffered from a “widespread intensification of the occupation” since the start of the war in Gaza.

He said that his prayers were with families who hoped to be reunited as a result of the deal, and for those who remain in captivity. “My prayers, too, are with the people of Gaza who have suffered such immense destruction, deprivation, and displacement. Now must be the time — again, so long overdue — for unfettered aid to reach the people of Gaza.”

He asked people to pray for Christians in the Holy Land, including the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, Dr Hosam Naoum, and staff at the Anglican-run Al-Ahli Hospital, in Gaza.

On Wednesday, shortly after media began reporting that a deal had been reached, Christian Aid’s head of Middle East policy and advocacy, William Bell, spoke about the overall death toll.

“A ceasefire by itself does nothing to address the root causes of the conflict,” he said. “A sustainable peace is not possible until the illegal occupation of Gaza, and the West Bank — including East Jerusalem — is ended, and Palestinians and Israelis are treated as equals. World leaders need to immediately support a locally led reconstruction plan for Gaza to provide hope for the future,” Mr Bell Said.

Tearfund’s Regional Director for the Middle East, Safa Hijazeen, also highlighted the death and destruction of the 15-month war, which has reportedly killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

“Families will be mourning their dead today even as they breathe a sigh of relief that the relentless bombardment will stop. The international community has a responsibility to ensure that the ceasefire holds and that urgent, sustained humanitarian access into Gaza is allowed,” Mr Hijazeen said on Thursday.

Mr Bell’s statement continued: “Hope for the future will only come with accountability for the past. The past year has seen a blatant disregard of international law, which is a danger to civilians everywhere. Christian Aid urges governments around the world to support due international process in the ICC and ICJ, to hold to account all violations of international law, towards both Palestinians and Israelis.

“We further believe that while both Palestinians and Israelis have the right to self-determination, Palestinians are being systematically and brutally denied that opportunity by the actions of the Israeli state. This must now be addressed.”

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