Israeli troops massacred 45 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday and further restricted aid shipments, in the deadliest day since the announcement of a “peace” agreement 10 days ago.
Since the announcement of the “ceasefire” agreement, 97 Palestinians have been killed in 80 separate violations of the terms of the agreement by Israeli forces. In addition, 230 people have been injured in these attacks.
The ongoing Israeli massacres and deliberate restriction of food make it clear that the “peace” agreement was nothing but a cover for the ongoing genocide. Governments in the Middle East and in Europe and all major media publications hailed the agreement as a breakthrough and a major step toward peace. It is no such thing. It merely cements and makes permanent the Israeli occupation of Gaza and gives diplomatic cover for daily massacres and deliberate mass starvation by Israel.
While the “ceasefire” agreement led to the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, it made permanent the Israeli occupation of over 50 percent of the enclave. This has created the conditions for Israel to continue to massacre and starve the population of Gaza with impunity, the only change being that this takes place with a fig leaf of “diplomacy.”
The Israeli military confirmed that it had carried out dozens of attacks throughout Gaza on Sunday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) added that it had “struck and dismantled 6 km of underground terrorist infrastructure ... using over 120 munitions.”
On Saturday, Israel said that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would remain closed, despite expectations that it would reopen. Israel has been allowing half as much food into Gaza as it had promised under the agreement. On Sunday, the IDF declared that the delivery of all food into Gaza would be halted, before reversing course.
Israeli officials publicly claimed that the attacks on Gaza were a response to attacks on Israeli troops by Hamas that killed two Israeli soldiers. But reporter Ryan Grim of Drop Site News said he was told by a US source that the Israeli troops were carrying out demolition operations in the city of Rafah when they were killed by an unexploded bomb.
Grim reported, “Soon after the explosion in Rafah, I’m told by a source familiar, the White House and Pentagon knew that the incident was caused by an Israeli settler bulldozer running over unexploded ordnance—contradicting Netanyahu’s claim that Hamas had popped up from tunnels.”
President Trump declared that despite the Israeli massacres, the “ceasefire” was still in effect. Trump declared, “We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas ... it’s going to be handled toughly.” For Trump, a “ceasefire” and the continuing massacre of Palestinians is not a contradiction in terms.
Hamas responded to the Israeli massacres by stating its intention to abide by the “ceasefire,” declaring, “We affirm our full commitment to implementing everything that was agreed, foremost among which is a ceasefire in all areas of the Gaza Strip.”
The Israeli government, meanwhile, is openly agitating for an expansion of the genocide. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Israel to attack Gaza “at full force,” while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded “War!”
The death toll in the two-year Gaza genocide stands at over 65,000, with more than 10 percent of the population either killed or wounded. The real death toll has been estimated to be substantially higher.
In August, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) officially declared a famine in Gaza City, stating that “this famine is entirely man-made.” The report added that “after 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution, and death.”
Despite promising to increase the flow of food into Gaza, Israel continues to deliberately impose hunger. “We note that the quantities that entered remain very limited, representing only a drop in the ocean of urgent needs, and they do not meet even the minimum humanitarian and livelihood requirements of more than 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip,” Gaza’s government media office said.
In a statement, UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram called on Israel to “open all of the border crossings now, and they have to let all of the aid into the Gaza Strip at scale alongside commercial goods.” She added that “there are 28,000 children who were diagnosed with malnutrition in July and August alone, and thousands more since then. So, we need to make sure it’s not just food coming in, but malnutrition treatments as well.”
At least 463 people, including 157 children, have died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza, and nearly one in four children is suffering from acute malnutrition.
The vast majority of Gaza has been destroyed by the Israeli military, with 90 percent of homes either damaged or destroyed. The enclave’s medical, sanitation and food distribution infrastructure has been largely destroyed.