ActionAid Association welcomes agreement for ceasefire in Gaza, and urges for concrete steps for lasting peace with protection of rights of Palestinian people - ActionAid India
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ActionAid Association welcomes agreement for ceasefire in Gaza, and urges for concrete steps for lasting peace with protection of rights of Palestinian people

Author: Sandeep Chachra | Executive Director | ActionAid Association
Posted on: Friday, 17th January 2025

We welcome the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The deal is expected to be implemented in three phases, will bring some respite to 2.3 million people of Gaza, whose homes and futures have been battered by 15 months of continued devastation and unimaginable horror. In the next three months we expect to see a much-needed surge in humanitarian aid, withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

We hope that this deal paves way for permanent and just ceasefire which respects the rights of Palestinians to determine their own future.  The international community must apply maximum pressure on all parties to urgently secure a lasting end to this war and on the Israeli government to end its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory. The Israeli government must be held accountable for all violations of international humanitarian law and comply with ongoing proceedings by the international courts into the charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

Fifteen months of unimaginable violence and horror has turned Gaza into hell on earth. While the current agreement to halt hostilities will bring some respite to Gaza’s exhausted people, it is no substitute for a permanent ceasefire which respects the rights of Palestinians to determine their own future. The international community must apply maximum pressure on all parties to urgently secure a lasting end to this war and on the Israeli government to end its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory. The Israeli government must be held accountable for all violations of international humanitarian law and comply with ongoing proceedings by the international courts into the charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Israeli military’s brutal and relentless offensive has left over 46,000 people dead, tens of thousands with life-changing injuries and turned much of Gaza into a wasteland, with more than two thirds of buildings destroyed. A ceasefire will not bring back the hundreds of thousands of homes that have been destroyed, nor the entire cities wiped off the map, so reconstruction efforts must begin now to urgently provide shelter to the thousands of homeless and displaced Palestinians across the Strip.

As the truce comes into effect, all efforts must turn to addressing the staggering humanitarian need in Gaza, where people are starving, and children are freezing to death. Aid – particularly nutritious food, clean water, shelter items, medicines and fuel – must be immediately sent into Gaza, while women and girls also need vital essentials like period products, as well as safe and private places to shelter.

Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director, ActionAid Association says,

“While we hope this ceasefire agreement is a crucial step forward, there is still a very long way to go to achieve the justice and accountability that Palestinians deserve for the countless atrocities that have been committed.”