SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
cease-fire
Violating Cease-Fire Deal, Israel Won't Withdraw Troops From Lebanon Before Deadline
"A renewal of hostilities would be a devastating blow for civilians still struggling to rebuild their lives," said one humanitarian worker.
Jan 24, 2025
The Trump administration on Friday called for a "short, temporary cease-fire extension" between Israel and Lebanon after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country's troops will not complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon as it agreed to in a 60-day truce that began in late November.
Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel agreed to withdraw its military from southern Lebanon by January 26, and the Lebanese political and paramilitary group Hezbollah was required to move its forces north of the Litani River and dismantle all military infrastructure in the south.
Netanyahu's office claimed Friday that "the cease-fire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese state" and said its "gradual withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States."
Israel asserted that the truce allowed for the withdrawal process to "continue beyond 60 days—a claim the Lebanese government and Hezbollah refuted—and claimed the Lebanese army had allowed Hezbollah to regroup since the cease-fire began.
Hezbollah called Israel's plan to maintain a military presence in southern Lebanon past the deadline a "blatant violation of the agreement."
As Hezbollah warned it would consider the cease-fire null and void if Israel does not withdraw by January 26, White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said an extension of the deadline is "urgently needed."
Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said Israel's "unilteral extension... is clearly a violation of the November cease-fire," while Lebanese American journalist Rania Khalek noted that Israel "has been violating the cease-fire the entire time with zero international condemnation."
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said that while the cease-fire has significantly reduced casualties in Lebanon following 14 months of fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah, at least 29 civilians have been killed since the truce began.
"While the cease-fire seems intact on paper, civilians in Lebanon continued to be killed and their homes blown up by the Israeli military," said Maureen Philippon, Lebanon country director for the NRC.
Prior to the cease-fire deal in November, the conflict killed at least 3,823 people and injured 15,859, as well as displacing tens of thousands of people in Israel and over 1 million in Lebanon. More than 100,000 people in Lebanon have still been unable to return to their homes.
"We have been displaced from our village for 16 months," a Lebanese citizen named Rakad, who fled the border town of Yarine, told the NRC. "We are all waiting for the 27th to go back, kiss the soil of our land, and breathe the air of our village."
Israel's likely delay in withdrawing troops comes as Lebanese residents have begun returning to their villages in the south, but the Lebanese military on Friday called on civilians not to return to the coastal town of Naquora, which Mayor Abbas Awada told Al Jazeera "has become a disaster zone of a town."
"The bare necessities of life are absent here," said the mayor.
The NRC warned that the "continued presence of Israeli troops in dozens of villages in southern Lebanon severely restricts the freedom of movement and leaves many in a prolonged state of displacement."
Philippon called on regional and international mediators to "ensure this truce evolves into a lasting cease-fire, with a firm commitment to protecting all civilians and civilian infrastructure."
"A renewal of hostilities would be a devastating blow for civilians still struggling to rebuild their lives," said Philippon. "Lebanese villagers are still being warned against returning to their homes and lands, while many others don't even know what happened to the house they left months ago. These people will need all the stability and support they can get to get back on their feet after. Israel must withdraw from these villages so that thousands can go back."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Celebrating the Gaza Cease-Fire and Pledging to Defend It
We must push for successful completion of all three phases of the cease-fire agreement and remove conditions within the U.S. that have enabled the genocide.
Jan 24, 2025
Veterans For Peace joins the people of Gaza in rejoicing at the cease-fire that has brought a halt to Israel’s bombardment of Palestinian children, women, and men, and their churches, their mosques, their schools, and hospitals. At least 50,000 have been killed in a cold-blooded massacre and over 100,000 injured, many losing their limbs. But the huge smiles on the faces of the children of Gaza and their shouts of joy since the cease-fire went into effect were a deeply profound thing to witness.
But just how real is the Gaza cease-fire? How enduring will it be? Many close observers of Israel are skeptical. In his recent article, “The Cease-fire Charade,” Chris Hedges, renowned war correspondent and VFP Advisory Board member writes:
Israel, going back decades, has played a duplicitous game. It signs a deal with the Palestinians that is to be implemented in phases. The first phase gives Israel what it wants—in this case the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza—but Israel habitually fails to implement subsequent phases that would lead to a just and equitable peace. It eventually provokes the Palestinians with indiscriminate armed assaults to retaliate, defines a Palestinian response as a provocation, and abrogates the cease-fire deal to reignite the slaughter. If this latest three-phase cease-fire deal is ratified it will, I expect, be little more than a presidential inauguration bombing pause. Israel has no intention of halting its merry-go-round of death.
While we rejoice at the pause in the U.S.-Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people, we recognize that the following underpinnings of the genocide remain unchanged:
- U.S. provision of weapons and services for those weapons to Israel in violation of a variety of U.S. laws, including the Leahy Law;
- U.S. deployment of military personnel in support of the genocide through servicing weapons provided to Israel; flying air attacks against Yemeni and Syrian people; flying MQ-9 Reaper drone surveillance missions to aid Israeli air attacks against Palestinians, Yemenis and, likely, Lebanese;
- Repression by U.S. colleges and universities against students and faculty who have acted so courageously and effectively to educate the U.S. public about the U.S.-Israeli genocide and have led in calling for divestment from Israel and from U.S. weapons makers who have been making billions in supporting the genocide;
- The silence of U.S. hospital systems about the genocide and repression of their staff members who are speaking out in solidarity with their sister and brother Palestinian medical workers who have been killed, jailed, humiliated, and whose hospitals have been destroyed and deprived of fuel, medicine, food, and safety. Evidence of this silence is the formation and growing popularity of Doctors Against Genocide;
- The cooperation of major U.S. press organizations with genocide in failing to report fully on the suffering of the Palestinian people and accepting without significant critique the narrative of the Israeli government; and
- The constitutionally-protected ability of weapons makers and other corporations to exercise dangerous influence in every segment of society and public opinion by lobbying legislators at every level of government, writing legislation, advertising, plying educational institutions with desperately needed funding, contributing to community events, keeping information hidden from the public, and investing in electoral campaigns.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not rejoicing at the cease-fire agreement. He immediately declared that former U.S. President Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump both told him he will have their support whenever he decides to resume the Gaza onslaught.
Fueling concerns about the durability of the Gaza cease-fire are Israel’s escalating attacks on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, its daily violations of the cease-fire in Lebanon, and its continuing efforts to draw the U.S. into a war against Iran.
Ominously, on his first day in office, President Trump removed the sanctions on West Bank settlers who have attacked Palestinian civilians, and reversed Biden’s “pause” of sending 2,000 pound bombs to Israel. And then there are these recent statements from Trump’s inner circle:
During his confirmation hearing for U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio strongly defended Israel’s conduct in Gaza while sharply condemning the International Criminal Court (ICC). As a senator, Rubio was a strong supporter of the criminal actions of Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
During her confirmation hearing on January 22, 2025, Trump’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Elise Stefanik said that while Palestinian people deserve human rights, Israel has a biblical right to the West Bank. She would not answer whether the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination.
“I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas,” testified Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, at his Senate confirmation hearing. And Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz declared that he is committed to the complete defeat of Hamas. That sounds very much like the failed logic of the Biden administration and Israel’s war on Gaza. When will they ever learn?
Despite its uncertain fate, the Gaza cease-fire is nonetheless a precious victory for the Palestinian people, and must be defended. Just look again at the joyous faces of the Palestinian children. This is another stage in the Palestinian struggle for liberation from colonial oppression and genocide. Peace-loving people everywhere must therefore remain vigilant. We must push for successful completion of all three phases of the cease-fire agreement. We must remove conditions within the U.S. that have enabled the genocide.
Veterans For Peace has consistently called on the U.S. government to stop sending U.S. bombs and war materials to Israel. We have encouraged legal action against the Biden administration for violating U.S. and international laws when it sends weapons to a country that is committing gross human rights violations. We believe that the quickest, most effective way to stop the genocide in Gaza—and to preserve the cease-fire—is to cut off the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel.
Furthermore, we stand ready to give our full support to U.S. military personnel who choose not to be party to genocide. We will continue to support students, teachers, medical workers, and others who are compelled by their consciences to take stands against genocide and for freedom for the Palestinian people. We call on all reporters and editors to report fully on the experience of the Palestinian people.
We demand that the Trump administration and the Israeli government respect the hard-won Gaza cease-fire, that they permanently end the carnage in Gaza and the West Bank, that they cease the occupation of Palestinian land, and that they end the oppression of the Palestinian people. We call on all peace-loving people to join us in defending the righteous struggle of the Palestinian people for their freedom and sovereignty.
Keep ReadingShow Less
As the World Helps Gaza Rebuild, It Must Respect the Dignity of Its People
Portraying the people of Gaza only as victims may hold Israel accountable for its genocide, but it fails to recognize the agency Palestinians have earned and deserve.
Jan 22, 2025
Following every Israeli war on Gaza, numerous narratives emerge. Some claim victory for one side and defeat for the other, while others—knowingly or unknowingly—attempt to exploit the aftermath for their own purposes.
The latter is not always nefarious, as the humanitarian calamities resulting from Israel's actions are undeniable—especially as Israel and its allies often use aid to Palestinians as bargaining chips for political concessions or to exert pressure on the strip and its leadership.
This dynamic often results in the exploitation of Palestinian suffering to raise funds, sometimes by organizations with high overhead costs, leaving independent researchers puzzled over the discrepancies between the funds collected and the funds allocated.
The new narrative must position Gaza as the heart of the Palestinian struggle, as a model for humanity, and as the central path for the liberation of Palestine—which, thanks to Gaza, now seems closer than ever.
Additionally, Gaza lacks an independent commission to track all received funds and their usage, which leads to controversies and public accusations at times.
Exploiting Gaza
However, this is a topic for another discussion. The issue at hand here is the portrayal of Gaza's victims—particularly children—without dignity or respect for their privacy, all in the name of helping Palestinian victims.
Throughout the latest Israeli assault on Gaza, the desperation of many Palestinian families, faced with famine and extermination, led them to seek help from international donors, often turning to online donation platforms.
Many of these personal fundraisers were, of course, legitimate, as Gaza was entirely pushed past the point of starvation. Yet, suspicious accounts also appeared, raising money for individuals—real or imagined—who had not sought assistance.
Perhaps future researchers will uncover how Gaza has been exploited by online profiteers and determine how to regulate such practices.
We hesitated to raise this issue during the war, fearing that a single misstep could have dire consequences for an individual or a family. Now that a cease-fire has been signed, it is crucial to open the conversation to scrutiny.
Reclaiming the Narrative
The latest Israeli war on Gaza was not ordinary, but then, no previous wars have been anything but destructive and lethal. For Israel, it was a genocide—a war aimed at exterminating Gaza's population through mass killings and driving the survivors into Egypt.
Thanks to the legendary steadfastness of Gaza's resistance and the unbending spirit of its people, Israel failed. As Israeli writer David K. Rees said, "For the first time, Israel just lost a war"
This is the Gaza that most Palestinians want us to know and remember—a symbol of collective strength and resistance. Their hope is that this message can reverberate around the world, not only to elevate the centrality of Gaza and Palestine in all political discourse but also to inspire oppressed groups globally to fight for their rights unapologetically.
Sadly, though sometimes understandably, that message is not one many are eager to champion.
Many will continue to see Palestinians only as victims. While this narrative may hold Israel accountable for its genocide, it fails to recognize the agency Palestinians have earned and deserve.
However, at times, this viewpoint can be understandable, especially in charitable causes, where the immediate need for aid must be addressed. Yet, it is possible to strike a balance—between meeting the urgent needs of victims and honoring their dignity, resilience, and collective power.
Not Hapless Victims
The exploitation of Palestinians, especially their children, as tools for fundraising must end. Gaza's children, many of whom are amputees, should not be paraded in the most degrading manner to appeal to wealthy donors. The world already knows what Israel has done to the Palestinian people—especially the children of Gaza, who suffer the highest rate of child amputations globally.
This is not to deny the suffering. We are proud and humbled by every Palestinian child—whether martyred, injured, amputated, or emotionally scarred. However, instead of portraying them as helpless victims, we must celebrate them as poets, artists, reporters, and representatives of their people.
The time has come for a new narrative, one fundamentally different from those that have emerged in the wake of previous wars. The new narrative must position Gaza as the heart of the Palestinian struggle, as a model for humanity, and as the central path for the liberation of Palestine—which, thanks to Gaza, now seems closer than ever.
Don't Help Israel
To betray this fact is to betray Gaza and all its sacrifices. A victim-only narrative that ignores the larger political context risks undoing the gains made by Palestinian popular resistance in Gaza and inadvertently helping Israel reintroduce a fear-driven discourse. After 15 months of relentless genocide, Israel has failed to instill fear in Gaza's population—and it must not succeed in rebuilding it.
Yes, we must spare no effort to help Gaza rebuild and resume its historical role as the leader of the Palestinian liberation movement. But we must do so with sensitivity, compassion, and above all, respect for Gaza and its unparalleled sacrifices.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular