“As the world celebrates the ceasefire, we are left to question its meaning. What does it truly signify for us in Gaza?
It is not an end to the war; it is simply a temporary lull in the violence.
It does not undo the devastation, nor does it heal the wounds inflicted on us.
A ceasefire is nothing more than a global performance, a signal that the world has done enough to appease its own conscience.
But for us, it is nothing more than an intermission in an endless tragedy.
When the bombs stop, the trauma does not fade.
The streets still lie in ruins. The poisoned water still courses through our bodies, and the toxic memories of the bombings linger like an invisible disease.
We don’t return to normal—we adapt to a new kind of existence, one that is born from the wreckage of our past and the uncertainty of our future.
A ceasefire does not undo the loss of homes, of lives, of family members. It does not bring back what has been destroyed. It does not restore dignity, nor does it heal the wounds of displacement.
For the world, a ceasefire is the end of the story, the resolution that allows the audience to turn the page. But for us, it is just another silence, another chapter in a story that never truly ends. The bombs may stop, but the wounds they leave behind will continue to bleed.
And the silence that follows is not peace—it is the deafening quiet of lives left in limbo, waiting for the next round of violence to begin.”
Jonny from Jews against Israeli Apartheid spoke about how the Met Police have stopped the Palestine Solidarity Campaign marching from the BBC on Saturday on the grounds that it is “near a Synagogue” even though there isn’t a Synagogue on the route and the marches always include many Jews like Jonny. The marches have never posed a threat to Jewish people.
So the ceasefire is by no means the end of the battle. It is one step on the way towards gaining liberation for the Palestinian people. Sheffielders will be continuing this battle by campaigning to stop selling arms to Israel.
And we will continue to raise funds for our friends in Gaza and boycott Israeli goods.
The good news is that Israel has failed to meet its aims for the war and they now face huge internal problems including a brain-drain.
But with over a hundred Palestinians murdered in the last 24 hours it is clear the Israeli Government’s genocidal wishes remain.
Thousands of demonstrators attempted to defy the police order that prevented them from marching. The Muslim Association of Britain criticised the Met’s decision to block the march, calling it “an outrageous assault on democracy, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression”.
John McDonnell MP and Green Party Deputy Leader Zack Polanski were in the group of marchers. John McDonnell tweeted “We did not force our way thru, the police allowed us to go thru & when stopped in Trafalgar Square we laid our flowers down & dispersed”
Squakbox has a report about an Israeli supporter who attempted to provoke people on the demonstration before eventually punching someone. She was then arrested.
