200 Days Since Gaza Truce: Continuous Israeli Violations and Seizure of 64% of the Strip's Area

The ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip completed its two hundredth day amidst international optimism that has dissipated in the face of continuous massacres and systematic Israeli violations. Despite the world's hope for an end to the war of extermination last October, field data confirm the occupation's reneging on all commitments of the 'Sharm El Sheikh Agreement,' concluded under American and international sponsorship.

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that the Israeli killing machine has not stopped since the truce was announced last October 10, with 824 martyrs and over 2,300 injured. These figures refute claims of adherence to the calm and reveal the continued targeting of civilians through direct shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Strip.

For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) affirmed its full commitment to the terms of the agreement, including the timelines for handing over prisoners and bodies, holding the occupation responsible for daily violations. The movement clarified in a statement that Israel continues to tighten the siege and almost completely close the Rafah crossing, considering this an extension of the genocide against the Palestinian people.

The Government Media Office in Gaza recorded about 2,400 Israeli violations during the first six months of the truce, including shelling operations and direct targeting of civilians. Statistics also indicated that the percentage of food and fuel aid entering did not exceed 37% of actual needs, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and famine in the northern and central areas.

On the political front, the 'National Committee for Gaza Management,' formed under international understandings, suffers from complete paralysis due to the Israeli ban. Occupation authorities refuse to allow the 12-member technocrat committee to enter the Strip to carry out their duties, hindering any path for transition from military calm to administrative and civil arrangements.

Political analysts believe that isolating the committee in Cairo and preventing it from working on the ground aims to empty the agreement of its political and administrative content. Experts confirm that Israel seeks to prevent the return of any form of organized civil life in Gaza, to ensure the continuation of dependence on direct military occupation and undermine opportunities for establishing an independent Palestinian administration.

In the reconstruction file, the figures remain shocking, with the United Nations estimating the cost of repairing what the occupation destroyed at about $71.4 billion over a decade. Despite 200 days passing, actual work has not begun on removing the estimated 61 million tons of rubble, due to strict Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy equipment and fuel necessary for operations.

Unexploded ordnance scattered among the rubble poses an additional obstacle to recovery efforts, as removal operations require careful inspection and exorbitant costs before any construction can begin. This systematic obstruction leads to a complete paralysis in trade and access to vital facilities such as hospitals and water networks, turning the lives of displaced persons into a continuous hell.

Israel uses the 'disarmament' issue as a pretext to obstruct the transition to the second phase of the agreement, which stipulates a complete withdrawal from the Strip. Researchers in Israeli affairs believe that this condition politically aims to create internal chaos and strip Palestinians of any means to defend themselves against continuous settler and army attacks.

Field reports and recent maps revealed a dangerous expansion of Israeli geographical control within the Strip through what is called the 'Orange Line.' Under these new divisions, the occupation seized an additional 11% of Gaza's area, bringing the total area under direct military control to about 64%, squeezing more than two million Palestinians into a very narrow space.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed in recent statements that more than half of Gaza's territory is now under the control of his army, emphasizing the continuation of the military initiative. These statements coincide with Defense Minister Israel Katz's assurances that the army will not retreat one millimeter from the 'Yellow Line,' undermining the promises of withdrawal stipulated in the Sharm El Sheikh Agreement.

Occupation authorities claim that the newly restricted areas are 'coordination zones' to facilitate aid, but reality indicates their transformation into open killing zones. Displaced persons in these areas face the risk of direct targeting, as the Israeli army deliberately changes the boundaries of these areas suddenly, making civilians military targets at any moment.

Hamas called on international mediators and guarantor states, primarily Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, to uphold their responsibilities regarding the clear Israeli reneging. The movement stressed the need for a firm stance that obliges the occupation government to implement its commitments and end the policy of starvation and siege used as a political pressure tool against unarmed civilians.

The situation in Gaza, 200 days after the supposed truce, remains suspended between unfulfilled international promises and an increasingly harsh reality on the ground. With the continued seizure of land and obstruction of reconstruction, Palestinians find themselves facing a 'paper' agreement that has only changed the names of the occupation and siege, while the war machine continues to claim lives and destroy what remains of the necessities of life.

Israel deliberately prevents the entry of the technocrat committee to prevent the return of any political or civil life, with the aim of maintaining unlimited military occupation.