“To call it a ceasefire is a joke,” Israeli soldiers say in accounts from Gaza

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire last year which had seen more than 72,000 Palestinians dead. PIC/PTI

Celebratory scenes of Israeli soldiers striking a Palestinian vehicle, killing everyone inside, near the Israeli-controlled Gaza Strip are quite common even after a fragile ceasefire took effect in October, an Israeli soldier says. In the weeks he was in Gaza, he said, he saw soldiers relishing the chance to go after those who crossed, or came close to crossing, the so-called yellow line that divides the strip into Israeli-controlled and Palestinian areas. "It was a jungle," the soldier, said, "After the ceasefire, the order was: If someone crosses the line, you shoot them."

"To call it a ceasefire is a joke," another soldier said. The soldiers' accounts are a rare glimpse into what's happening in the Israeli-controlled part of Gaza since the deal went into effect seven months ago. They said they were speaking out, anonymously, because they were angered and saddened by what they saw. Another soldier stationed in Gaza for weeks after the ceasefire said, "There was a general feeling that human lives are not valuable."

This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel controls 60 per cent of Gaza and the next step was to move to 70 per cent control. "We need to stop using this term," one said of the word, ceasefire. "It's not serving people that want to stop the war."

70%
Of Gaza to be controlled by Israel soon, as per Netanyahu

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