War in Gaza: Will a ceasefire end the war?

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he will discuss the latest proposals for peace with Hamas in his security cabinet.

But would a ceasefire end the fighting over Gaza permanently or just for a while?

According to the UN, there is no uniform, generally accepted definition of the term “ceasefire.” The term comes from the military command “ceasefire,” which is the opposite of the command “open fire.”

For the two parties at war, this can mean anything they do during negotiations.

They also confuse the words “ceasefire” and “truce.”

But the UN points out that there is a difference between the terms “ceasefire” and “cessation of hostilities”.

They say the “cessation of hostilities” is like an informal agreement to end the fighting.

While the ceasefire is more formal, the document states that it marks an agreement that includes details such as:

Nor does it specify which military activities are permitted and which are not, nor how the ceasefire will be monitored.

For example, the civil war in Liberia ended in 1993 when the Transitional Government of National Unity dealt with the Liberian National Patriotic Front and the Liberian United Liberation Movement for Democracy.

Both sides undertake not to import any more weapons and ammunition, not to modify or attack military positions, not to instigate further hostilities and not to use mines and incendiary devices.

Sometimes the two warring parties agree on a temporary or provisional ceasefire.

They are unable to reduce violence or alleviate a humanitarian crisis.

When Israel and the Hamas-led militant groups agreed to a temporary ceasefire between November 24 and 30, 2023, Hamas released 105 hostages in exchange for about 240 prisoners.

Democrats could also agree to a temporary ceasefire to create an environment that facilitates negotiations and paves the way for a permanent or final ceasefire.

In June 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed an agreement to limit the conflict so that they could negotiate a permanent ceasefire. They signed this agreement in December as part of the Algiers Agreement to end the war.

However, due to repeated failures or fragile temporary ceasefires, prolonged wars could ensue.

The United Nations (UN) negotiated a series of ceasefires in 1978, 1981 and 1982 to end the civil war in Lebanon. However, fighting flared up again after each of these ceasefires, and the war, which began in 1975, did not end until 1990.

In some cases, one or both of the warring states could use the temporary ceasefire to strengthen their ground positions.

A final (or permanent) ceasefire usually occurs after several successful peace talks between hostile countries.

They usually involve the disarmament or demobilization of specific armed forces, but the subsequent safeguards may remain in place for many years after the agreement is signed.

For example, the 1998 Good Friday Agreement for Northern Ireland involved the Provisional IRA and loyalist groups agreeing to render their weapons “unusable.”

The agreement is also expected to include clauses designed to promote continued peace and harmony in the province, such as keeping the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland open for smooth, duty-free trade.

Israel and Hamas have announced a temporary ceasefire for November 2023 and initiated a “humanitarian pause”.

Sometimes they use humanitarian pauses to reduce the violence of fighting or to alleviate a humanitarian crisis.

For example, the Sudanese government agreed to a ceasefire with two militant groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, that suspended fighting in Darfur for 45 days to allow aid agencies to provide humanitarian assistance to local refugees.

In 2004, after the tsunami in Indonesia, both the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement declared ceasefires to provide aid to the affected areas.

They could also agree to stop fighting over a specific area, which they would call a geographical ceasefire.

In 2018, the United Nations signed an agreement between the Yemeni government and the Houthis to stop fighting around the port of Hodeidah on the Red Sea and to protect the local population.