EDITORIAL - A good but also concerning development

The biggest international news to break recently is the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas that will see a six-week pause in the fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages.

While many details have yet to be revealed, the pause in fighting is said to be only phase 1 of three in this plan.

Yes, this is good news. The people of Gaza, caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israel deserve some weeks of peace. They also finally get to receive unimpeded aid which they have been badly lacking for the longest time. On the other hand, some of the hostages taken during Hamas’ terror attack in Israel --which sparked this conflict-- finally get to go home.

This is indeed something to be happy about, but now the balancing act is making sure the people of Gaza get what they need in terms of aid without building up Hamas.

There are those who argue that Hamas is made up of people in Gaza and that they are practically the same. We disagree. We should not forget that while Hamas may consist of Palestinians it doesn’t speak for all of them, and not all Palestinians support Hamas.

Let’s also not forget that for all it has said and all that it is indeed fighting for, Hamas proved itself to be a terrorist organization when it went on a rampage last October 6, 2023, making no distinction when it killed men and women, young and old, Israelis and foreign nationals alike.

While the situation has indeed become more complicated, and while we do acknowledge that the Israel Defense Force has gone beyond just fighting the enemy to committing what can be considered war crimes and even genocide in Gaza, if the people of Gaza want someone to blame for starting their misery, they need not look far, they only need to look at Hamas.

Let this ceasefire happen, but it must be watched closely.