Since Friday, a four-day truce began between Israel and Hamas during which a hostage exchange as well as a pause on fighting took place. Hostages have been released with the second batch already released late on Saturday and early on Sunday morning. The mood was quite cheerful the past three days with tearful families reuniting but along with that, the days were also plagued by violence and unexpected killings. Despite it being announced as a humanitarian pause, Israeli forces continued their deadly raids on a number of West Bank cities. At the West Bank’s city of Jenin, Israeli forces bombed a house, leaving many injured.
Along with the continued raids, the killing of civilians has also continued as early today, at least six Palestinians got killed by Israeli forces. Several Palestinians also attempted to return to the North of Gaza to check on their homes and families and yet they were prevented from doing so by Israeli forces. Journalist Hind Khoudry reported that on the first day of the truce, at least six people got shot in the leg trying to head North.
Even the families who were able to make it North without getting shot were met with rubble, not finding a trace of their families or homes. From what can be gleaned in the past three days, the truce may seem rose-colored from the outside but when taking a closer look, injustice continues. There is also the lingering fact that the truce is only temporary meaning the fighting and violence will continue. The days of the truce are short and numbered with the only silver lining being a few days of respite for Palestinians.