Hamas wins while Gaza celebrates ceasefire

The Gaza Strip experienced another sleepless night on Friday, but this time, there was no major Israeli bombardment of the besieged coastal territory in the last 11 days.

Instead, tens of thousands poured into the streets, celebrating ceasefire Israel and Palestinian armed groups agreed, shouting in favor of resistance.

The mosques heard prayers from Eid al-Fitr, a week after the holiday, and the sweets were passed over in celebration of the deaths and destruction. People also took the opportunity to visit those who killed their relatives.

Celebrations of the ceasefire spread to several cities within the occupied West Bank and to the occupied Palestinian neighborhoods east of Jerusalem, and many praised armed groups and the steadfastness of Palestinian Gaza.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 248 Palestinians were killed in the latest Israeli attack, including 66 children and 39 women. At least another 1,910 were injured. More than 90,000 Palestinians were evacuated, and many of Gaza’s infrastructure and civilian buildings were badly damaged or completely damaged.

On the Israeli side, 12 people were killed, including three foreign workers.

The ceasefire carried out by the Egyptian mediator saw an “reciprocal and unconditional” ceasefire between the Israeli army and Palestinian armed groups on Friday at 02:00 (Thursday 23:00).

No conditions were officially given, and the Israeli Security Cabinet said it had unanimously voted in favor of a “mutual and unconditional” truce in Gaza.

However, Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanou told Al Jazeera that the armed groups had set their own conditions.

He said the deported families of Palestinian families were forced into the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem, along with attacks by Israeli security forces on the Al-Aqsa mosque.

“Israel has withdrawn in the face of armed resistance, and it did not achieve what it said was one of the targets it launched when it launched the attack,” al-Qanouk said.

It is currently maintaining a ceasefire, even as Israeli forces searched the Al-Aqsa mosque complex again on Friday, firing rubber-coated steel bullets and grenade sounds.

“Israel is being tested now, and they are seeing how the Gaza resistance group will react,” al-Qanouk said.

“This ceasefire is just a pause, an opportunity to gain more strength in the face of Israeli attacks.”

‘Shameful ceasefire’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the attack has dealt Hamas an “unimaginable blow”, saying it has “changed the equation” and pushed Hamas back.

Netanyahu said the Israeli military had destroyed Hamas’ network of tunnels in Gaza, as well as numerous rocket factories and shops, and claimed to have killed more than 200 Palestinian fighters, including 25 senior people.

However, many Israeli politicians denounced the ceasefire as a humiliating capitulation to Hamas.

Gideon Sa’ar, the leader of the New Hope party, said the ceasefire was “shameful” and lamented that “even with the best intelligence and air force in the world, Netanyahu has achieved an” unconditional ceasefire “from Hamas.

Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right member of the Knesset, said the “shameful ceasefire is a serious capitulation to terror and the imposition of Hamas.”

Avigdor Lieberman, who resigned as defense minister in 2018 after agreeing to an Israeli-led deal with Egypt after two days of intense fighting in Gaza, said the ceasefire was “another defeat for Netanyahu.”

‘Unprecedented Palestinian aid’

Adnan Abu Amer, a Palestinian political analyst based in Gaza, said there was a general consensus among Palestinians that Hamas had won this round of fighting, both on the military and political fronts.

“Despite lasting 11 offensive days and causing little material damage to Israelis, Hamas has dealt a severe blow to Israel’s image around the world – this time more than the last war in 2014,” he told Al. Jazeera.

“This escalation has arisen not from the Gaza Strip and the blockade, but from the collective issue that is essential to the Palestinian cause – aided by the international Islamic, Arab and majority communities,” Jerusalem said.

Hamas and other Palestinian groups in Gaza fired thousands of rockets at Israel over 11 days. Long-range missiles fired by armed groups in Gaza caused the shutdown of two major airports.

Palestinian worshipers gather before Israeli forces attack Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Friday [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]

Meanwhile, Abu America has said that the rhetoric used by the Palestinian Authority – such as maintaining the two-state solution – has been very well received by what is happening on Palestinian Street.

“[This rhetoric] after each attack it harms any support the Palestinians have received for Hamas, ”Abu Amer said.

“This time, we have seen unprecedented Palestinian support [for the resistance] across the country, confirming that Israeli policies in Gaza are an extension of anti-Palestinian policies living in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the 1948 territories, ”he said.

“Palestinians from these territories would leave in solidarity with Gaza before they went out on a candle-filled ambush, but this time they represented a clear part of the resistance against Israel,” Abu Amer said.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians staged a general strike on Monday in all territories. In the occupied West Bank, at least 28 Palestinians were killed in several days of protests against the Israeli army, the health ministry said, with thousands more injured.

For now, Hamas and Israel clearly want a ceasefire, whatever it is, Abu America concluded. The Gaza Strip needs a break after Israel’s hard blow.

For the Palestinians in Gaza, the ceasefire is just a respite and expresses the hope that the ongoing struggle for daily life suffered as a result of the crippled blockade in the coastal expanse will end sooner or later.

“As with any movement that exposes the crimes of Zionism and questions the European and US-backed narrative, global solidarity is sweet, but I think the most important victory is that it has reduced Israel’s chances of sitting in our coffers. A long time,” Mahmoud Qudaih, Khan Younes Palestinian user of social media he said.

“We bury the martyrs and breathe a sigh of relief as the war of liberation continues and does not stop.”