Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Is Not the End of Humanitarian Crisis, Bay Area Activists Say

The war, which began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, has caused mass displacement, destruction and starvation in Gaza. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed more than 46,600 people, about half of whom are women, children and elderly people.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that Israel and Hamas had reached a multi-phase ceasefire and hostage deal brokered by negotiators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar, including members of both the Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team.

“This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” he said in a statement.

Seth Brysk, the Northern California regional director for the pro-Israel American Jewish Committee, said he would like to see a return of “peace and security” for all Israelis and Palestinians in the region.

“We certainly would welcome this first stage of the agreement, and it would be truly, I would say, a pivotal moment in the war,” he told KQED. “For [the released] hostages, this would mark the end of more than 15 months of captivity at the hands of Hamas. And living under brutal conditions. But I also think it’s really important to remember that all this came about because of the Hamas massacre in Israel on Oct. 7.”

Rounds of unsuccessful negotiations have been ongoing for much of the war, and many pro-Palestinian activists in the Bay Area criticized the U.S. for not doing more to end the fighting sooner.

“We know that the U.S. always has the power to stop the war, especially as it’s the number one supplier of the weapons that are being used in Gaza,” Ali said. “We’ve been demanding a ceasefire from the very get because it’s the primary thing needed to stop the constant death of our people in Palestine. But the bar is below the ground, so to speak.”

Biden said that the deal, which comes after weeks of indirect negotiations, is based on the three-phase deal he announced in May to permanently end the war.

During the first phase, there would be a “full and complete ceasefire,” during which Israeli forces would withdraw from populated areas in Gaza, and “a number” of Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

The ceasefire would continue throughout negotiations of the second phase when male soldiers being held hostage would be released, and remaining Israeli forces would withdraw. Biden said the ceasefire would then become permanent.

The third phase would see the release of the remains of dead hostages, and the rebuilding of Gaza would begin.

The Arab Resource and Organizing Center said in a statement that while it welcomes the ceasefire agreement, it will continue to advocate for “long-term solutions to address the humanitarian crisis and to hold those responsible accountable.”

Their demands include a permanent ceasefire and end to the blockade on Gaza, accountability for Israeli war crimes and the removal of Israeli forces in Lebanon and Syria.

AROC is also calling for an end to U.S. military and financial support to Israel.

“This ceasefire is not the end — it is a call to intensify efforts for an arms embargo on apartheid Israel, for boycott, divest and sanctions, and for lasting peace and freedom,” Lara Kiswani, the executive director of AROC, said in a statement.

KQED’s Juan Carlos Lara and Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman contributed to this report.