Everyone welcomes the cessation of full-scale violence in Gaza but the current situation is a ceasefire, not a full peace deal as President Trump claims in his questfor the Nobel Peace Prize. Many complex and challenging issues remain to be negotiated such as disarming Hamas, a multi-national security force, and some form of Palestinian governance.

To sustain the ceasefire both sides must uphold the terms of the accord that they signed.  Alas, violence continues. When Palestinian militants killed two Israeli soldiers, the IDF responded with a bombing campaign that killed over one hundred Palestinians — the majority of them women and children.

 Despite the fact that the ceasefire text recognized that some bodies of Israeli hostages would be difficult or even impossible to locate and recover under the massive rubble piles, Israel blamed Hamas for not promptly returning all of them. In response they further curtailed access for desperately needed humanitarian aid.

 While U.S. media have emphasized Israel’s charges that Hamas is failing to meet the requirements of the ceasefire accord,  a far larger violation by Israel gets scant attention.

As Jan Egeland, who is Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, has said: “Israel is blocking the Trump plan’s humanitarian clauses.”   Only 4,453 trucks out of the required 15,600 trucks of supplies have entered Gaza during the ceasefire. That is only 28% of the mandated deliveries of food, medical, and other needed supplies. Much of most nutritious foods have been kept out while items such as processed meat, candy bars, chips, and soda have come in to be sold to the beleaguered Palestinians who have no cash to buy any of it.

An enduring peace in Gaza and relief for starving Palestinians require that Israel abide by its written pledge to allow full deliveries of humanitarian aid. 

James Matlack lives in Camden