The government in the Gaza Strip announced on Sunday that it is in the process of publishing a “plan” to facilitate the return of displaced Gazans to their homes in the center and south of the Gaza Strip following the implementation of the ceasefire.

Ismail al-Sawabite, Director of the Media Office of the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip, told AA, “The government plan will be announced in the next two days. It will be accompanied by daily instructions and directives to help displaced Palestinians cope with the various stages of the ceasefire agreement’s implementation.”

He urged displaced Palestinians “to comply with government protocols to ensure the safety of themselves and their families,” and encouraged them to return to the west of the Gaza Strip via al-Rashid Street on the coast to ensure their safety.

Since October 7, 2023, Palestinians in many areas of the Gaza Strip have been repeatedly displaced, spending most of their days fleeing shelling or sniper fire, searching for shelter, food, and water, and struggling to survive.

The siege of cities often results in the displacement of residents. Palestinians are forced to pass through checkpoints set up by Israel during these forced displacements.

Israel killed 101 people after ceasefire announcement

On the other hand, 101 Palestinians, including 27 children and 31 women, were killed, and at least 264 people were injured in Israeli attacks after the ceasefire was announced.

Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Civil Defence Directorate in Gaza, issued a written statement on the matter.

Basal stated that 101 Palestinians, including 27 children and 31 women, have been killed since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and shared that 82 of the deceased were from Gaza City. Basal also noted that 264 people were injured as a result of the attacks.

Qatar, one of the mediator countries, announced on January 15 that an agreement had been reached between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza. The agreement will take effect on Sunday, January 19. In the first 42 days of the three-stage ceasefire agreement, 33 Israeli prisoners will be released.

According to Israeli media reports, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reached an agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the hostage-truce agreement signed with Hamas in Doha last night. As a result, Smotrich, unlike Itamar Ben-Gvir, will not leave the government.

Religious Zionism, one of Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition partners, will vote against the ceasefire but will not leave the coalition on the condition that the agreement is temporary. According to Channel 12 and the Walla news website, Smotrich and Netanyahu agreed on the continuation of the Israeli army’s war against Hamas in Gaza after the temporary ceasefire and the control of humanitarian aid being transferred to the Palestinian territories. As a result of this agreement, Smotrich and his party, Religious Zionism, will vote against the agreement but will remain in the government.

The ceasefire agreement consists of a first phase, expected to last 40–42 days, followed by second and third phases. The second and third phases envisage a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza. The content of the agreement between Smotrich and Netanyahu, as alleged in the news reports, shows that the Israeli army will continue to attack Gaza after the completion of the first phase of the ceasefire.

Last night, Smotrich’s fellow far-right coalition member Itamar Ben-Gvir announced that his Otzma Yehudit party would leave the government if the agreement is approved.

As the international media and mediators (US, Egypt and Qatar) have announced, Israel and Hamas have agreed to accept the ceasefire agreement – an agreement that is permanent and not temporary, and if its provisions are implemented, the other parties will not be able to start the war again.

Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, while confirming the finalization of the ceasefire agreement, announced the implementation of its provisions from next Sunday (January 19). Joe Biden, the outgoing President of the United States, has also announced the finalization of the agreement.

Hamas, which is one side of the story, while giving in to the request of the mediators, has also welcomed the establishment of a ceasefire. In the meantime, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, has agreed to accept the agreement, but he has not made his position clear so far, which could indicate his displeasure with the situation.

There are a lot of points and unsaid things about the agreement and it requires to be examined not in one writing but in writings – but what is urgently important is the vacating of the White House by Biden for Donald Trump that will happen on January 20. In this regard, the discussion is that establishing a ceasefire is the result of the work of which of these two (Biden or Trump)? Of course, Trump has registered this achievement in his name by publishing a statement on his social page as saying “we have achieved many successes without even being in the White House. Just imagine the amazing things that will happen when I get back to the White House and my administration is fully confirmed.”

Contrary to Trump’s claim, there are also some media organs that defend the ceasefire in Gaza is not the result of his efforts, but due to Biden’s efforts. Here are their arguments:

First

It is true that Biden has stubbornly supported Israel since October 7 and without this support, Tel Aviv would not be able to continue the war against Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Iran, etc.

For this reason, the critics of the Gaza war call what Israel has done in this area as a result of Biden’s support, but it should not be forgotten that at the same time, he stopped trying to establish a cease-fire to the extent that, if necessary, he did not avoid putting pressure on Netanyahu. Although he did not make an early impression.

It was Biden who, at the height of the Gaza war (November 24, 2023), forced the parties to agree to a ceasefire for four days – the ceasefire led to the exchange of a number of Israeli hostages with a group of Palestinian prisoners. This current agreement is the result of the plan that Biden presented in May of last year – a plan that was accepted by Netanyahu with disgust now and not at that time.

We have already discussed this once in the previous article, however based on the above plan, the parties stepped on the border of signing the agreement many times, but they went back a little. So, it can be said that Biden had already plowed the ground, but it yielded later (last evening). To say that nothing was done at all, we have spoken exactly to Trump’s taste.

Second

Not only the ceasefire in Gaza, but the end of the war between Hezbollah and Israel (November 27, 2024) was also the result of Biden’s efforts. The war in Lebanon was so intense that ending it was more difficult than establishing a ceasefire in Gaza.

It was after the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah, that the Islamic Republic targeted Israel for the second time (October 1, 2024) with nearly two hundred ballistic missiles – the attack was called “Operation Honest Promise 2”. While for Gaza, compared to Lebanon, he did not do anything serious.

Falling short against Hezbollah was expensive for Netanyahu, but apparently, he had no choice but to accept Biden’s request. Meanwhile, Biden was not as concerned about what happened in Lebanon as he is about the Palestinians.

The 46^th president of the United States not only ended the war in Lebanon, but also put an end to the power vacuum in this country – the election of Joseph Aoun as the president.

Lebanon has been without a president since October 30, 2022, which can be said to be practically in a power vacuum. But Biden, in cooperation with France and Saudi Arabia, did something to greatly reduce the severity of the political crisis in Beirut – if it does not sink completely.

If we pay close attention, the difficulty of appointing the president in Lebanon was not less than the difficulty of ending the war, considering the tribal structure of this country. The war and power vacuum in Lebanon was ended without anyone saying anything about Trump’s role in it.

Third

It is true that Trump has always emphasized the need for an immediate end to wars. But he is talking more about Ukraine than Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, etc. Due to his own reasons, he does not like Ukraine and the ruler of this country, and for this reason, he has exposed Biden to serious criticism for the money he gives to Kiev.

He had already claimed that in case of victory, he would end the war in Ukraine for one day – even at the cost of displeasure of Kiev and America’s European allies. Every time he has spoken about the war in Gaza and Lebanon, he has severely criticized Biden on the pretext that he did not support Israel well. He even accused Kamala Harris – the Democratic candidate – of being anti-Israel many times in the heat of the election.

So, if the reader focuses on Trump’s view of the crises in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, he/she will inevitably reach the understanding that he is against the continuation of the war in Ukraine and not in Gaza and Lebanon. The reason is also clear: Israel is important to him. For this reason, many analysts believe that when Trump talks about the end of wars in the world, he considers the Middle East to be an exception to the rule, because Israel is present in it.

Fourth

The end of the Gaza war is the biggest achievement considering the high ceiling of human casualties and financial damage in this strip – an achievement that Biden made in the last days of his presence in the White House.

No matter what Trump claims, this coin was struck in the name of Biden – because he is still the ruler of America. Trump wanted to record this achievement, but luck did not help him. According to reliable reports, Trump told Netanyahu that he should finish his work by January 20. In the sense that he has freedom of action until after Biden leaves the White House and then prepares to sign the ceasefire agreement – an agreement that should have been decorated with the color of his representative’s pen, which was not.

Trump’s attempt to delay the establishment of a ceasefire does not necessarily mean the confirmation of the continued destruction in Gaza, but rather he wanted to put an end to the crisis in this strip and Lebanon after the moment he entered the White House, so that the most benefit from it is Israel and the most loss is for its competitors.