Following the 15-month long Israel-Hamas war, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal to pause the conflict. The agreement, laid out in three phases, calls for hostage and prisoner exchanges in the first phase.
The first phase, if followed, will lead to a stop of the fighting in Gaza for 42 days according to the Associated Press.
Though the agreement does not call for a complete end to the fighting, a Wall Street Journal report said that the two parties are expected to begin negotiations to end the war in the second and third phases of the agreement, 16 days into the pause of fighting.
For now, Israeli troops are to move to the edges of the Gaza Strip and food, medicine and other forms of aid will be distributed to Palestinians.
Salem Younes, an organizer for the University of Oregon Students for Justice in Palestine said the pause is a “good start.”
“It’s a good start to (the) liberation of our people, but there’s a bunch of nuance,” Younes said. “This deal could not (be) implemented properly due to someone or the other, or aggression could start back up again.”
UO student Michael Gonzalez said that he’s “glad” both parties have agreed to pause the conflict.
“Essentially war between the two has gone on long enough,” Gonzalez said. “I’m glad there is at least some attempts, some talks on how to move on from here and release some hostages.”
Gonzalez also said that he thinks many people will be “happy” with the pause.
“I remember last year all of the encampments, the marches, the protests, everyone was definitely upset about the stuff that’s happening in Gaza,” Gonzalez said.
Similarly, UO student Devlin Christansen said that “stopping the conflict at any point is good.”
“It’s (the conflict) just pretty negative all around.”
Christansen also said that he thinks the pause will “alleviate a little bit of stress” on campus.
“Hopefully this is the end of the war,” Christansen said.
In a social media post, UO Jewish Voice for Peace released a statement in response to the pause.
“We hold tightly to the hope of a halt to the Israeli military’s bombardments, an end to the starvation of Palestinians by the Israeli government, a beginning of rebuilding in Gaza, and the return of hostages held in Israel and in Gaza to their families,” JVP said in the statement.
The statement also said in the coming days it will be “critical for the Palestine solidarity movement.”
“The coming days and weeks during this fragile ceasefire will be critical for the Palestine solidarity movement to turn this temporary agreement into a full halt of the genocide, including the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid and an end to the Israeli military occupation and siege of Gaza,” the statement said.
The statement ended by stating “together, we must ensure this agreement becomes a step on the path toward Palestinian liberation.”
