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Gaza fighting pauses, but is the war over?

Hamas and Israel have not agreed to terms of a mutual cease-fire agreement, worrying many that the war will soon start up again.

By Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the January 20, 2009 edition

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JERUSALEM - Hamas militants and Israeli soldiers held their fire Monday after agreeing to halt fighting after three weeks of war. Israeli troops began pulling out as Gazans assessed damages, cared for the wounded, and buried some of the estimated 1,300 dead.

But there is no mutual cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, meaning this could merely be a pause in the war. Both sides have warned that they could resume fighting at any time, keeping the pressure on the international mediators, namely Egyptians, to come up with a deal Hamas and Israel will accept.

"The political results of this war are much more important than the military results, and these results will be tested according to the will and ability of the Egyptians to fight against the smuggling of arms into Gaza," says Professor Moshe Lissak, an expert on the Israeli military at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In a press conference, the military arm of Hamas vowed that it would rearm, despite a series of pledges by Egypt, European powers, and the US to stop the Islamist organization, which rejects any recognition of Israel, from restocking its weapons supply.

"Manufacturing holy weapons is our mission and we know how to acquire weapons," Abu Obaida, a spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, told reporters.

He also said that only 48 Hamas fighters had been killed in the operation, a small fraction of the 500 that the Israeli military says it killed in the fighting. Reuters reported that according to figures from Hamas, 112 Hamas fighters and 180 Hamas policemen were killed. Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians were killed.

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned that if Hamas renews cross-border rocket fire, Israel will launch another offensive. "If Hamas fires a [rocket] at Israel, it will get slapped down again."

In Gaza Monday, Palestinians went to the site of their homes and picked at the rubble in disbelief, looking to salvage belongings. After the cease-fire went into effect, at least 100 Palestinians were found beneath the ruins, according to a print reporter allowed into Gaza. Israel has not allowed foreign journalists into Gaza during the offensive, and as of Sunday evening, has begun letting in a pool of six media representatives at a time.

In the center of Gaza City, most ministry buildings are in tatters. Even the parliament building is destroyed. Some Palestinians who became internally displaced during the crisis are finding that they have no homes to go back to. Gazans are still finding food, fuel, and cooking gas in short supply, and many were still without electricity. A Hamas official in Gaza said 5,000 homes, 16 government buildings, and 20 mosques were destroyed, and another 20,000 houses damaged, Reuters reported. Saudi Arabia has pledged $1 billion in aid to help Gaza rebuild. Palestinians put the total cost of damage at $1.9 billion.

Casualties in Gaza skyrocketed in the last week of the war, pushing a sense of urgency upon regional and international players trying to lead Israel and Hamas toward a cease-fire. At the forefront of these was Egypt, which borders both Israel and Gaza, and which has often acted as an intermediary.

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