CrossFireArarbia

Destroying The Ceasefire

CrossFireArabia
November 27, 2025

Dr Marwan Asmar

Since the signing of the ceasefire on 10th October 2025 Israel killed at least 347 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Although the Donald Trump team officials in the White House keeps saying how they satisfied are about the maintenance of the Gaza ceasefire, the truce is in a precarious mode. Many expect the ceasefire to be broken any day because of the bloody Israeli military actions and fire on the whole of the Gaza Strip.

Since it took effect last October, Israel violated the truce over 500 times. Israel begun attacking the Gaza Strip at the end of the first week of the ceasefire, and continued thereafter with the average daily killed standing at seven at least.

However, the highest number of those killed was on 29 October, 2025, when 109 people were slaughtered and a reminder of the carnage days of the war. But after that, the number went down significantly. On 19 October the number of those killed went down to 45, 33 on 19 November and at least 21 people on 23 November. Here as well, and although figures may vary, UN experts say at least 70 of those killed were children. Did they pose a threat to the mighty military machine?

This is not to say anything about the number of those injured, a figure conservatively put at 889 and likely to increase as the days go by especially since there is nobody to stop the Israelis.

While the number of those murdered may have gone down drastically, the Israeli war machine continues to bomb different areas of Gaza, from its north, center and south of the Strip, neighborhoods, communities, cities, towns and refugee camps that exist only in names but already lie in debris, heaps of rubbles and destruction.

Biet Hanoon, Jabalia, Biet Lahia, Gaza City, Al Maghazi, Khan Younis and Rafah and more, once thriving population centers have become mounts of rubble and wreckage unfit for human habitations, gorges stumped into the earth with nothing but skewed bricks and mortar.

The Israeli army, and through its air force, has continued to re-bomb schools, mosques, residential building and tattered infrastructures and/or what remained of them. Israeli pilots and/or quite often through drones, are flying over sorrow horizons of destroyed mounts and bombing what is left of a past society, all in search of illusive Palestinian groups they were unable to “flush out” in the last two years of their genocide of Gaza.

The genocide has created a sence of acceptable madness among the Israeli populace that “you bomb as much as you can” twice, thrice, four times and more so the vicious cycle of violence is indelibly printed on helpless civilians who nevertheless, refuse to be expunged.

Today, Gaza is a horror story with its new cold, calculated and unforegiven Israeli masters refusing to accept their new stalemate. They continue to occupy 53 percent of the enclave with them unwilling to quench their thirst for blood but leap into the misery they have created. Just after 10 October, they have demolished 1500 buildings in the areas they control and this is just the beginning for Israel is planning for a long occupation despite the US plan outlined by president Donald Trump on 29 September to end the war on Gaza and start to redevelop the enclave. This is certainly a pipedream.

The killings continue as Israel pays lip service to a US plan outlined at the heart of which is dismantling Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian resistance groups. But the story as plotted by the new political masters of Trump et el., begins here. With the ending of Hamas, the redevelopment of Gaza is supposed to start.

However, everyone is still stuck at stage of one of the plan. Hamas has already set free the 20 remaining Israeli hostages and is yet to handover the final two of the 28 dead hostages it already delivered to the Israeli hostages. God only knows when they will be delivered.

The movement says it has been finding it extremely difficult to search for the remains of the hostages and finding the final two would be a grueling task because of the mass bombing of the enclave whose geography has been drastically altered with people no longer knowing where former places, houses and roads no longer are. They have become alien to a society they lived in all their lives.

Of course, this has become music to the ears of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government who feel they can continue to bomb Gaza under the eyes of the Americans in a pretext that the final remains of the hostages are still to be delivered and that Israel continues to fight Hamas.

Within this context many observers are saying Israel wants to “lock” the Trump 30-point plan in phase I and doesn’t want to move to stage II because that would mean it’s war objectives was for nothing apart from destroying Gaza: No Palestinian transfer, No end to Hamas and the calls for a Palestinian state growing by the majority of countries of the world.

Despite the close alliance between the United States and Israel, the ultimate aim of the Trump plan – being its end result – is the call for a Palestinian state. Netanyahu has long realized this and this is why he wants to lock Gaza into an initial ceasefire phase in which he will continue to call the violent shots on Gaza.

News

Israel Kills 280 People Under Ceasefire Status

CrossFireArabia
November 20, 2025

Despite the fact that the White House keeps saying that the Gaza ceasefire, signed in 10 October, 2025, remains intact, Israeli warplanes have continued to bombard Gaza. and kill its civilians.

Since that day Israel has killed at least 280 civilians in the enclave according to the Gaza Media Office. Other sources say the number maybe as high as 305 with the figures only till 19 November, 2025 and likely to increase as the days go on.

Further, these deaths have occurred through 393 violations of the ceasefire that was signed last month in Sharm Al Sheikh in the presence of US president Donald Trump along with other world leaders.

Israel has continued to bomb properties and residential areas in the Gaza Strip while directly shooting civilians under the alleged claim of going after Hamas operatives.

The death has been accompanied with injuries as well. Since 10 October Israeli warplanes has resulted in the wounding of at least 672 civilians as the bombed such places as Gaza City and Khan Younis.

News

Jet 1000 Lands in Israel, Tops 120,000 Tons of Military Hardware

CrossFireArabia
November 20, 2025

The Israeli Defense Ministry stated its 1000 military supply craft landed in Tel Aviv, Wednesday, in a western airlift that began on 8 October 2023 with the total military cargo delivered to Israel to more than 120,000 tons.

The announcement comes as the US continues to support Tel Aviv during the Gaza war, with some Western governments criticizing Israeli actions and imposing restrictions on arms exports according to Anadolu.

Spain issued a royal decree last September imposing a full arms embargo on Israel, while last year the UK, Germany, and Canada imposed limits on weapons transfers.

“The 1,000th aircraft in the comprehensive military equipment and weapons airlift operation, which commenced immediately following the outbreak of war, has landed in Israel,” said a ministry statement, calling the operation “unprecedented” in Israeli history.

The aircraft, carrying a large shipment of military equipment, was received by Defense Ministry Director-General Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, the ministry said.

“To date, over 120,000 tons of military equipment, munitions, weapons systems, and protective gear have been transferred to Israel via 1,000 aircraft and approximately 150 maritime vessels,” the statement added.

The statement did not specify the exact origins of the shipments. However, it said the operation is jointly managed by the Defense Ministry’s Procurement Directorate, through the International Defense Transportation Unit, the ministry’s missions in the US and Berlin, the army’s Planning and Force Build-Up Directorate, and the Israeli Air Force.

An October report by the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft said the US has provided Israel with at least $21.7 billion in military assistance since the start of the Gaza genocide two years ago.

After Oct. 7, 2023, the US supplied $17.9 billion in military aid during the term of former President Joe Biden, and $3.8 billion under current President Donald Trump, according to the report. Some of that assistance has already been delivered, while the remainder will arrive in the coming years.

The report said Israel would not be able to continue its genocide in Gaza without US support.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, injured over 170,000, and reduced most of the enclave to rubble.

Opinion

The Olive Tree Defies Israel

CrossFireArabia
November 10, 2025

By Ali Osman Karaoglu

A lesser-known dimension of Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestine since 1967 is the systematic destruction of the Palestinian people’s economic resources and means of livelihood. One of the most important sources of income for Palestinians is olive cultivation – so much so that the olive tree is regarded as one of Palestine’s national symbols. Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish captured this symbolism in his famous words: “Here we remain, as long as thyme and olives remain.”

Beyond its symbolic value, the olive tree is the main source of income for nearly 80,000 Palestinian families. According to UN data, about 48% of the agricultural land in the West Bank and Gaza is covered with olive trees. Olive production contributes around 14% to the Palestinian economy. About 93% of harvested olives are used for olive oil production, while the remainder is used to make soap, table olives, and pickles.

Usurpation of olive trees: Israel’s assault on nature and identity

Recently, Israeli settlers in the West Bank prevented Palestinians from harvesting olives, an essential source of livelihood, and destroyed 13,000 olive trees. Such actions, either directly committed or condoned by Israeli authorities, are known and documented as systematic practices.

According to various international reports, Israel has destroyed around 800,000 olive trees over the past 20 years, and more than 2.5 million trees since 1967.

Palestinians face great difficulty in harvesting and protecting their olive trees. Since the Oslo Accords, Israel has exercised full control over 60% of the West Bank and requires Palestinians entering these areas to obtain a “permit issued by Israeli authorities.”

Farmers are therefore forced to secure permission to access their own land, but this permit system is largely arbitrary. There are no clear criteria specifying what conditions Palestinian applicants must meet to obtain a permit.

Even when they provide ownership documents and pass “security” checks, permits are often issued only to the person named on the deed, excluding other family members from entering the land. The permits are typically short-term, and each time they expire, farmers must reapply without any guarantee of renewal.

According to UN data, nearly half of permit applications are rejected on arbitrary grounds, turning the system into a policy of harassment and attrition. The same restrictive policy applies to bringing in agricultural necessities such as tractors, equipment, and fertilizers.

Over time, many Palestinians who once cultivated other crops have converted their land into olive groves, since olive trees can survive even without intensive care.

How Israel’s seizure of olive trees violates international law

The destruction of olive trees in the occupied Palestinian territories occurs almost every year. Thousands of trees are destroyed annually during Israeli military operations or through attacks by settlers. Such incidents are rarely taken seriously or investigated by police or other public authorities.

Israeli soldiers frequently fail to protect Palestinians from settler attacks and, in many cases, act against the Palestinians themselves when they try to defend their land and trees.

In fact, the destruction of Palestinian farmlands and olive trees violates international law. Even Israel’s own Supreme Court has recognized the illegality of arbitrary practices in the “Morar v. IDF Commander” case.

In that case, Palestinian farmers appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court after a military commander denied them access to their farmland. The commander claimed the closure was intended to “protect Palestinian farmers from settler harassment.” The plaintiffs argued, however, that Israeli settlers systematically harass, assault, and damage the property of Palestinian villagers, while the Israeli army fails to intervene to stop this violence or take necessary measures to protect Palestinians and their agricultural products.

The court ruled that the army must take steps to prevent settler violence, stating that the proper way to protect Palestinian farmers from harassment is for Israeli military authorities to implement necessary security measures and impose restrictions on the settlers responsible for unlawful actions. Nevertheless, Israeli authorities continue to disregard their own court’s ruling and persist with arbitrary practices.

Under international humanitarian law, causing environmental damage as a military tactic is prohibited. The law stipulates that “care shall be taken to protect the natural environment against widespread, long-term, and severe damage during armed conflict.” This protection includes prohibiting methods or means of warfare that are intended – or expected – to cause such damage, as these may endanger the health or survival of the population.

Palestinian territories have been under Israeli occupation since 1967. This ongoing occupation constitutes a “continuing act of aggression,” and under the provisions of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, imposes obligations on the occupying power.

The occupying power is responsible for ensuring a secure environment that allows the local population to meet its daily needs, and must protect civilians against looting and destruction of property.

Moreover, the damages caused by Israel – an apartheid regime – to the environment and to olive trees are considered war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute.

UN Security Council resolutions also emphasize that Israel must refrain from harming the environment and is obligated to prevent settler provocations. Israel has repeatedly violated these obligations and continues to act in breach of international law.

It is known that Israel’s policy of destroying olive trees aims both to make its occupation permanent and to clear land for the establishment of future settlements. Therefore, Israel’s environmental crimes should be added to the cases currently being pursued against it at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The author who contributed this piece to Anadolu, is a faculty member in the Department of International Law at Yalova University’s Faculty of Law.

News

In Spite of Ceasefire Israel Kills 8 People Daily

CrossFireArabia
November 10, 2025

Despite a month having passed since the ceasefire took effect in the Gaza Strip, Israel continues to commit genocide against Palestinian civilians through various means. It maintains conditions that devastate the lives of more than two million Palestinians and prevent any recovery from over 25 months of humanitarian catastrophe, in the midst of persistent international silence and failure to ensure protection and accountability.

Over the past four weeks, Euro-Med Monitor has documented the continued premeditated killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli army. An average of eight Palestinians are killed daily under the ongoing comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip, alongside a policy of deliberate starvation, deprivation of basic means of survival, obstruction of reconstruction, restrictions on movement, denial of medical treatment for the wounded and sick, and the deliberate hindrance of humanitarian aid. This situation represents a continuation of the ongoing crime of genocide against the population of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army continues to violate the ceasefire daily through aerial and artillery bombardment, gunfire, and the ongoing destruction of homes and buildings, particularly in the eastern areas of Khan Yunis and Gaza City. These actions form part of a systematic approach to eroding the foundations of life in the Gaza Strip and denying its residents their most basic rights, in clear violation of international law.

Israel is exploiting the absence of international oversight to reshape the geographical landscape of Gaza, using the ceasefire as a cover to make areas under its direct military control effectively uninhabitable, both now and in the future

Since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October, the Israeli army has continued to kill Palestinian civilians, with 242 Palestinians killed, including 85 children, at a rate of more than eight deaths per day, and around 619 others injured, at more than 20 injuries per day. This clearly shows that Israel has not ceased its policy of killing and systematically targeting Palestinians.

In the absence of any effective international monitoring mechanism to enforce the ceasefire, Israel continues to commit violations on the ground by excluding the areas it controls, which make up over 50 per cent of the Gaza Strip, from the scope of the agreement. It has continued to carry out bombing and destruction operations even in the absence of active fighting.

Israel is exploiting the absence of international oversight to reshape the geographical landscape of Gaza, using the ceasefire as a cover to make areas under its direct military control effectively uninhabitable, both now and in the future. Euro-Med Monitor stresses that these actions are not merely violations of the agreement, but in effect transform the truce into a tool for expanding control and inflicting comprehensive, long-term destruction.

Israel continues to administer a deliberate policy of starvation in the Gaza Strip, having blocked the entry of approximately 70 per cent of the aid required under the agreement. It also controls the type of goods allowed in, systematically restricting essential food items such as meat and dairy products while flooding the markets with calorie-dense but nutrient-poor products. This maintains the population in a state of controlled, chronic hunger, without addressing its causes or severe health consequences, and without visibly displaying the acute physical signs of malnutrition.

The World Food Programme stated in a report issued on 7 November that hunger in Gaza has reached devastating levels, noting a 20 per cent increase in child malnutrition rates compared to last year, along with a shortage of routine vaccinations for one in five children due to the collapse of the health system.

Israel continues to close the Rafah crossing and block movement in both directions, restricting the movement of civilians, including the wounded and sick, and hindering the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.

These actions are not isolated incidents but part of a systematic pattern indicating a clear policy by the Israeli political and military leadership to use the ceasefire as a cover to continue genocide against Gaza’s residents. By maintaining a disguised military assault and perpetuating killing, starvation, and systematic destruction, Israel exploits the absence of international will to protect civilians and hold perpetrators accountable.

Euro-Med Monitor warns of a grave development: the dismantling of the Gaza Strip’s geographical unity, turning it into an isolated and uninhabitable area. This risks entrenching a permanent geographical and demographic division and pushing the population towards forced displacement as the only means of survival.

The continued silence of the international community and the failure to activate accountability mechanisms provide Israel with practical cover to continue committing genocide, albeit at a slower pace, as part of a consistent policy aimed at eliminating the Palestinian presence in the Gaza Strip.

The international community must take immediate practical steps to ensure genuine protection for Palestinian civilians, secure the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and bring an immediate and comprehensive end to the illegal blockade. All crossings must be opened for the movement of people and goods, including the sick and wounded, under the supervision of the United Nations and its relevant agencies.

Safe, sufficient, and regular access to humanitarian aid must be guaranteed, particularly for essential items such as food, medicine, fuel, and supplies needed to restore health and basic services. It is imperative to prevent Israel from continuing to control the quantity and quality of aid or obstruct its delivery.

Euro-Med Monitor stresses the need to ensure the safe return of all forcibly displaced persons to their homes and original places of residence within the Gaza Strip and rejects any arrangements or projects that would entrench forced displacement or impose isolation zones or so-called “humanitarian zones” as substitutes for their original homes.

The deployment of an effective international mission under the United Nations is required to monitor Israeli conduct, document violations, and provide a protective presence that would help safeguard civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Euro-Med Monitor urges all states to halt the export and import of weapons and military or security equipment to and from Israel, and to suspend any military or security cooperation with it, in fulfilment of their obligation to prevent genocide and avoid contributing to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

All states and regional organisations, particularly states parties to the Genocide Convention, must take effective political, economic, and legal measures, including imposing targeted sanctions and suspending partnership and cooperation agreements with Israel, until it complies with its obligations under international law. States must also support the investigations of the International Criminal Court and implement the relevant orders of the International Court of Justice, while exercising their national jurisdictions to prosecute those involved in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Gaza, and ensure that such individuals are not afforded any safe haven.

Euro-Med Monitor calls for the establishment of an international mechanism for compensation and reconstruction to guarantee redress for civilian victims and the rebuilding of homes, infrastructure, and vital facilities, in a manner that does not restore Israeli control over resources, crossings, or freedom of movement.