The ceasefire agreement in Gaza today is the product of the blows the Israeli military and people have dealt Hamas, Hezbollah and the reactionary bourgeois regime in Tehran over the last 15 months.
Advances in defending Israel as a refuge against Jew-hatred and pogroms are also opening space needed for working people throughout the Middle East to join together to fight for their own interests — whatever their religion or nationality — and for their national aspirations.
Hamas had insisted that it would not free more hostages until Israel ended its war in Gaza. Instead, the thug outfit was forced to accept a 42-day ceasefire, during which it is supposed to release 33 of the 94 remaining hostages in batches. More than 30 of the hostages are dead. Negotiations for releasing the rest, an end to the war and who will replace Hamas in running Gaza are supposed to take place in a second stage.
The Israeli government, in turn, will release 737 Palestinians accused of terrorism, along with 1,167 Gaza residents detained over the last year who did not participate in Hamas’ Nazi-like Oct. 7, 2023, pogrom. During phase two Israeli troops would pull back to a new buffer zone within Gaza and to Rafah near Egypt.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Jan. 21 that if “Hamas adheres to all the details of the agreement, residents of the Gaza Strip will be able to return” to their homes in the north starting the following week. Returnees will have to pass through checkpoints to make sure no weapons are being smuggled in.
Hamas before and after Oct. 7
“It’s worth pausing to ask: Where were Hamas and its ‘axis of resistance’ before October 7, 2023, and where are they today?” Israel-based Ynetnews wrote Jan. 17. “This is the standard measure of defeat and victory.”
Hamas death squads killed 1,200 people, took 251 hostages and raped and mutilated dozens of women Oct. 7. Before then, “Hamas reigned unchallenged over the Gaza Strip,” Ynetnews noted, backed by Tehran.
“And today? Hamas’ military capabilities have been reduced by 80% and its supply lines for weaponry have dried up completely. Its political and military leadership has been systematically eliminated.” Many of its tunnels are destroyed and some 15,000 of its thugs have been killed.
Hezbollah, a key part of Tehran’s “axis of resistance,” was forced to withdraw from southern Lebanon, its leadership decimated. The Israeli air force also destroyed Tehran’s main air defense systems, and the Tehran-backed dictatorship of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad collapsed, leading Syrians to pour into the streets to celebrate. All this has left Hamas more isolated than ever.
Despite the blows, Tehran and Hamas have not backed off from their goal of destroying Israel and eliminating the Jews there. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya told Al Jazeera Jan. 15 that the Oct. 7 pogrom was a “security and military miracle” and would “forever be a source of pride.”
Both the outgoing administration of Joseph Biden and the incoming one of President Donald Trump pressed the Israeli government and Hamas to agree to the ceasefire deal. Since early in the war, the Biden administration has been pushing Israel to wind it down and leave Hamas intact. Washington’s concern is not defense of the Jews, which requires defeating Hamas, but stability for U.S. imperialism’s own economic and political interests in the region.
Many Israelis across the political spectrum are uneasy about the release of Palestinians convicted of terrorism and the potential withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza before Hamas is totally dismantled.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Trump assured him that if Hamas rejects Israel’s security demands for the next phase of the ceasefire he will support Israel’s return to an offensive against Hamas.
Thousands celebrated across Israel as the first pictures of Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbacher, the freed hostages, arriving in Israel were broadcast. Damari lost two fingers after Hamas shot her in the hand Oct. 7 as she was comforting her dying dog. She has become a symbol of courage and resilience as she held up her bandaged hand, flashing a victory sign and a smile after her release.
Dozens of gun wielding, masked Hamas thugs were among a crowd that surged forward, surrounding the cars bringing the three women to Saraya junction in Gaza City, before they were handed over to the Red Cross Jan. 19. The photos Hamas broadcast were meant to give the impression it has massive support. But Quds Feed, a pro-Hamas internet site, posted an aerial photo. It showed several hundred people at best.
Hamas cynically handed the women “gift bags” with photos of them in captivity, a map of Gaza and a “certificate” of release to give the false impression the women were well-treated. Previously released hostages have described their mistreatment at the hands of their captors and widespread sexual abuse.
Declining support for Hamas
After narrowly winning election over the Palestine Liberation Organization in 2006, Hamas smashed its political opponents in bloody fighting. It routinely tortures and kills them to terrorize the people of Gaza. It’s the biggest obstacle Palestinians face to fighting for their national rights and being able to forge ties with workers throughout the region, including workers in Israel.
There have been several anti-Hamas demonstrations in Gaza over the last year and more Gazans are willing to speak out. “This is the result of having bad Islamists in power for years, like Hamas, and it has dragged us back 200 years,” Sami, a Palestinian from Gaza who used to work in Israel, told Media Line in November.
The more progress Israeli forces make in degrading Hamas’ remaining military capabilities and structures, the more blows will be dealt to Jew-hatred. And more room can be carved out for working people to forge a leadership that can point a way forward.