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Gaza ceasefire: The Palestinian spirit will never be broken

As Israel grapples with the catastrophic failure of its 15-month war, the Palestinian people are asserting their right to return and to exist
A child carries a Palestinian flag in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on 19 January 2025, shortly before a ceasefire deal was implemented (Bashar Taleb/AFP)

Amid thunderous cheers from thousands of people in Gaza’s main square, three Israeli hostages were handed over to the Red Cross on Sunday - a moment that defied expectations and rewrote the narrative of the war. 

Fighters from the armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, clad in full combat gear, stood alongside the hostages, their presence a bold declaration of defiance. 

After 15 months of relentless bombardment, mass displacement and near-total devastation, the Palestinian resistance emerged undefeated, reclaiming the story of survival and resilience.

In Israel, disbelief and humiliation prevailed. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had repeatedly assured his people that northern Gaza had been “cleansed”, that Hamas - which is proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK and other countries - had been obliterated, and that the area was under full Israeli military control.

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But the hostages, who his army failed to rescue, were released with confidence by the very fighters he claimed to have eradicated. Few moments have exposed the hollowness of Netanyahu’s claims so vividly.

As Gaza erupted in celebration, Israel faced a reckoning. In a televised interview, former national security adviser Giora Eiland, architect of the “Generals’ Plan” to ethnically cleanse northern Gaza, called the war “a resounding failure” for Israel. Asked whether Hamas had won, his answer was unequivocal: “Certainly yes. Certainly. It’s a resounding failure.”

Refusing oppression

David K Rees, an Israeli American columnist, captured this seismic shift in stark terms: “Israel has been forced to fight war after war in order to defend itself. It won the wars in 1948, 1967, and 1973. It fought Hezbollah to a draw in 2006. That has just changed … Unfortunately, instead of his legacy being the man who could defend Israel, Netanyahu will go down as the first prime minister of Israel ever to lose a war.”

Victory in asymmetric wars is not defined by firepower, but by the ability to crush the spirit of the weaker party. By this measure, Netanyahu’s campaign was a catastrophic failure. 


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He unleashed unprecedented destruction, dropping 70,000 tons of explosives on Gaza’s 360-square kilometres in the first six months of the war - more than the bombing of Dresden, Hamburg and London combined during World War Two. 

Satellite imagery revealed that two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings were damaged or destroyed, with entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble. Israel’s siege cut off water, food and fuel, transforming Gaza into a massive concentration camp.

Netanyahu’s strategy hinged on eliminating resistance leaders, believing their deaths would fracture the movement and incite rebellion. When Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed fighting on the frontlines, Netanyahu proclaimed victory was near. But his calculations were tragically flawed; no rebellion came. 

That outstretched hand, rising from the destruction, encapsulates the indomitable spirit of the Palestinian people: resilient, unyielding and unbreakable

Even when he promised $5m and safe passage for any Palestinian willing to betray Hamas by freeing a hostage, not a single person responded - even among a starved and homeless population.

Netanyahu’s litmus test for victory, breaking Gaza’s spirit, collapsed. Instead, Hamas dictated its terms: hostages would be released only with a ceasefire, withdrawal and prisoner exchange. This reversal exposed the futility of Netanyahu’s war, leaving both Israelis and the world to grapple with his miscalculations.

Whenever a wave of resistance is broken, another rises soon afterwards. Abu Iyad, the Palestine Liberation Organisation leader assassinated in my hometown, Tunis, in 1991, once predicted: “Our people will give birth to a new revolution, to a movement more powerful than ours, to leaders who are more experienced and more dangerous to the Zionists. The Palestinians’ unwavering will to continue the battle is a truth beyond doubt … We are determined to remain as a people, and one day we will have a homeland.” 

His prophecy resonates today, as Palestinians in Gaza, against all odds, refuse to bow to their oppressors, and continue their march towards freedom.

Returning to rubble

What Netanyahu envisioned as a second Nakba has become a “march of return”. Bloodied and battered, displaced Palestinians are now returning to the rubble of their homes. Their resilience has become the defining image of this war - a testament to the strength of a people who refuse to be erased.

This struggle evokes a poignant historical parallel from the Vietnam War, as succinctly framed by Tamir Pardo, a former Mossad chief. Pardo recalled the words of an American colonel addressing his North Vietnamese counterpart: “We never lost a single battle.” 

The North Vietnamese officer’s reply was as profound as it was devastating: “That may be true, but tomorrow morning, you will leave, and we will remain.”

This war was never about Hamas alone, but about a century-long Palestinian struggle for freedom. Hamas, founded in 1987, is merely the latest chapter in a resistance that stretches back to the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the colonial seizure of Palestinian land. Across generations, Palestinians have fought with strikes, protests, uprisings and armed revolts. 

Their fight has taken many forms - nationalist, leftist and Islamist - but the essence remains the same: an unyielding refusal to submit to occupation, and a determination to reclaim their homeland.

Netanyahu’s allies once celebrated the forced exodus of Palestinians from Gaza, envisioning it as the final chapter of the Nakba. Zionist settler leader Daniella Weiss dreamed of turning Gaza into a colonial settlement. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who resigned from cabinet in the wake of the ceasefire deal, spoke of exiling Palestinians to Scotland.

Today, against all odds, Palestinians are returning to their homes, vowing never to leave again. Their return is not just a physical act, but also a symbolic one - an assertion of their right to exist, to return and to resist.

Chilling parallels

As Palestinians celebrated their survival, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded with chilling venom: “Don’t be impressed by the forced joy of our enemy. This is an animalistic society that sanctifies death. Very soon, we will erase their smile again.”

His words epitomise the brutality of Israel’s colonial project, which over the course of 15 months revealed its savagery to the world. Israeli soldiers documented much of the destruction themselves, providing evidence that may one day be used in international courts.

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Columnist Gideon Levy, reflecting on Israel’s actions even after the ceasefire was agreed, said he was “troubled and ashamed” by these events: “It’s not only about the killing … it’s about being proud of the destruction. No shame, nothing. Israel is very proud … and this is very troubling.”

Holocaust historians Daniel Blatman and Amos Goldberg drew chilling parallels in their piece titled “Although what is happening in Gaza is not Auschwitz, it is of the same family - a crime of genocide”.

In one of the war’s most haunting moments, just hours after the ceasefire was announced, rescuers pulled three-year-old Asaad Fadel Khalifa from the rubble of Gaza City. Dust-covered and struggling to breathe, his tiny hands worked to remove gravel from his mouth. Around him lay the ruins of his family home, his loved ones buried beneath the wreckage.

That outstretched hand, rising from the destruction, encapsulates the indomitable spirit of the Palestinian people: resilient, unyielding and unbreakable. Against overwhelming odds, they rise again and again, refusing to be erased. 

Asaad’s survival, like Gaza’s resistance, stands as a symbol of hope, endurance and the unrelenting pursuit of freedom.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Soumaya Ghannoushi is a British Tunisian writer and expert in Middle East politics. Her journalistic work has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, Corriere della Sera, aljazeera.net and Al Quds. A selection of her writings may be found at: soumayaghannoushi.com and she tweets @SMGhannoushi.
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