Gaza Ceasefire Brings Quiet and Claims of Victory on Both Sides

A rare sense of calm emanates from the Gaza Strip on the first morning of the latest cease-fire Wednesday, following a night of celebrations in the streets claiming victory over Israel. In Israel meanwhile, officials are spinning their perception of what most hope will be the end to the current round of fighting, focusing on the fact that no air or sea port is in the offing. The easing of movement at the crossing points is being hailed by Hamas as an achievement of the war but the Israelis insist it’s actually a continuation of a policy already in effect before the battles began. The 49-day war left much of the Gaza Strip in rubble and claimed a heavy toll in human life: more than 2,000 Palestinians died, many of them civilians forced into the lines of fire, and 69 Israelis. That Hamas was able to fire more than 100 rockets per day – a total of more than 4,500 — after almost seven weeks of fighting is a source of pride for Palestinians and a source of concern for Israelis who will focus on that question when the investigations into the conduct of the conflict begin as they no doubt will. Israeli residents of the southern communities that took the brunt of the rocketry also want to know why families were still evacuating their homes during the past week. Egypt and Israel were satisfied that the agreement does not allow for substantive negotiations to begin until there has been quiet for a full month. Not surprising is the prevalent belief that rockets will resume when the end of the month is near and negotiations are due to begin in earnest. Nevertheless, for Hamas, that Israel will in one month’s time begin to discuss the easing of travel; the creation of a sea and air port – issues that were not being addressed before the war began – is proof-positive that it won this round.