The Ceasefire That Never Stood a Chance

Every ceasefire Hamas enters isn’t a step towards peace—it’s a deceptive pause to rearm and strike again. Yet the world keeps falling for it.

Courtesy of BBC News

On February 8, 2025, three Israeli hostages—Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami— emerged from Hamas captivity. They didn’t return as survivors of diplomacy, but as victims of calculated cruelty. Over a year of deliberate starvation and torture had deteriorated their bodies and shattered their spirits. Sharabi, after enduring months of suffering, emerged only to learn his entire family had been massacred on October 7.

Just two days later, Hamas breached the fragile ceasefire by delaying the release of the remaining hostages. This was not an isolated incident but part of a well-documented pattern. Hamas does not enter ceasefires to seek peace. Instead, they exploit these moments as opportunities to regroup and rearm. Yet, despite decades of evidence, the international community continues to treat these temporary pauses as genuine steps toward resolution.

History leaves no room for such naivety. In 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, Hamas repeatedly violated ceasefire agreements, using the pauses in fighting to rearm. After the 2021 conflict, they used the post-ceasefire period to expand their tunnel networks and rebuild their weapons stockpile—laying the groundwork for the October 7 massacre. The recent hostage release follows the same playbook. Hamas continues to taunt the global community, openly flaunting its control over life and death. Meanwhile, Western powers, desperate for even the slightest sign of diplomacy, are too eager to fall for this deadly game. This dynamic breeds a dependence on appeasement—an assumption that more ‘concessions’ will lead to peace. It’s a fool’s errand.

Despite this undeniable pattern, many Western officials still cling to the fantasy that Hamas can be trusted at the negotiating table. Diplomats denounce Israel while remaining conspicuously silent as Jewish hostages emerge from captivity looking like Holocaust survivors. News outlets amplify Gaza casualty figures but reduce Israeli suffering to a footnote. While calling for "calm," they enable Hamas by failing to address the manipulation of media and public sentiment. This is not just hypocrisy; it’s a deliberate distortion of reality.

The same politicians who demand “proportional responses” from Israel never expect proportional ethics from Hamas. Activists who claim to fight oppression conveniently overlook Iran’s financing of terror. Each time Hamas murders civilians, it is reframed as “resistance.” This moral relativism does not just embolden Hamas—it ensures that no atrocity will ever be too great to excuse.

Hamas has come to understand this cowardice. They know that their ceasefire violations will be met with indifference. They know that every hostage they hold is a bargaining chip in a game they’ve already won. And, worst of all, they know that Western leaders prioritize optics over action. So long as this remains true, Hamas has no reason to stop.

Some will continue to insist that Israel must show restraint. But restraint against an enemy that uses every pause to rearm and regroup isn’t diplomacy—it’s pure capitulation, a surrender in the face of terror.

The global community must confront an uncomfortable truth: Hamas does not seek coexistence; it seeks absolute control. Every ceasefire that leaves Hamas intact sends a dangerous message—not only to Gaza but across the Middle East. Iran, Hamas’s chief sponsor, watches these cycles as a test of Western resolve. Every concession emboldens Tehran and strengthens Hezbollah, further undermining regional stability. 

The solution is not endless cycles of negotiations that reward Hamas’s tactics but decisive action that cripples its ability to wage war. The U.S. and its allies must cut off Qatar’s financial pipelines to Hamas, enforce stricter sanctions on Iran’s terror financing, and ensure military aid to Israel is not subject to politically motivated delays. Diplomatic efforts should prioritize isolating Hamas on the world stage rather than legitimizing its role as a governing entity. The longer the world indulges the fantasy that Hamas is a viable partner for peace, the more inevitable the next massacre becomes.

This is not just about Gaza. This is about Hezbollah. This is about Tehran. This is about every militant group watching and waiting to see whether the world has learned anything from history. If Hamas survives this war intact, the consequences will extend far beyond Israel. It will set a precedent for the next terrorist group, the next hostage crisis, and the next war the world is too weak to prevent.

The three men who returned on February 8 did not walk into freedom—they staggered out of a death camp. Hamas has once again shown the world who they truly are. If the international community doesn’t act now, the next reminder will be written in blood.