19 February 2025

Gaza ceasefire the first step on a journey of peace

The ceasefire agreement is the first sign of hope in Gaza. Picture: iStock. Credit: Abdallah El Hajj

Lesa Scholl

16 January 2025

Aid agencies and church leaders are cautiously optimistic that rebuilding Gaza can begin following the staged ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The conflict, which has raged since Hamas’s brutal attack on 7 October 2023, has devastated the region, reportedly leaving Gaza largely uninhabitable.

Caritas humanitarian emergencies lead Sally Thomas said that while a ceasefire symbolised hope, physical suffering and psychological trauma would continue for weeks and months as people started rebuilding their lives.

The devasting war has claimed over 46,000 lives, most of whom were civilians and at least a third of them children, according to aid agencies.

Some analyses have put the number of deaths as high as 64,000.

While many of the deaths were due to military action, other significant factors have been malnutrition, dehydration and disease.

Read more: Gaza hospital workers ‘Christ’s hands and feet’

Ms Thomas said that as the threat of bombs and missiles abated, attention needed to turn to providing access to necessities to prevent further loss of life.

“The road to recovery physically and psychologically…will take decades to achieve, but we have the capacity to water the seeds of hope with our compassion today,” she said.

National Council of Churches in Australia president Reverend John Gilmore said that the two opposing sides entering a ceasefire for the sake of the people in Gaza was the first sign of hope.

He said that a ceasefire was just the beginning. “The journey of peace is much more significant than the signing of a ceasefire,” he said.

Read more: Christians urged to push for lasting peace in Gaza

Mr Gilmore said that apart from the ceasefire and release of people being held captive on both sides, there needed to be access to humanitarian relief and support for the displaced people of Gaza.

He said that peace meant that communities could live with some level of food, water and housing security.

“I think peace can easily be interpreted as the lessening of conflict, but peace also means people having access to the things they need for daily life,” he said.

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