How can we move to the second phase of the alleged ceasefire when the first has not been implemented?
By Afaf Aniba
Yesterday I read the news that Sisi’s Egypt is calling on the Security Council to move to the second phase of the supposedly agreed ceasefire. How strange—has the first phase even been implemented? The bombardment continues, most humanitarian aid has not entered Gaza, only a very limited number of residents have returned to the Strip, and the army of the Zionists has not withdrawn from Palestine. So how can Egypt call for moving to a second phase of a ceasefire that does not exist on the ground ?
The rubble has not been cleared, specialized aid has not been allowed in, and only a small number of the wounded and the sick have been able to leave for treatment abroad. So how can we move to a second phase? The Arab fragmentation system possesses important cards in its hands, yet it does not use them, and it treats the tragic reality in the Strip with great indifference. The genocide continues, and there is no support for our people there.
The numbers themselves reveal the scale of the catastrophe. According to United Nations estimates, the Gaza Strip needs at least **500 to 600 aid trucks per day** to meet the minimum needs of the population, including food, medicine, and fuel. Yet what has actually entered during many periods has been far below this figure, sometimes not exceeding a few dozen trucks per day—something relief organizations have described as “a drop in the ocean of needs.”
As for the humanitarian reality, it has reached unprecedented levels. According to United Nations estimates, **tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed during the war**, while the number of wounded has reached **hundreds of thousands**, alongside a near-total collapse of the health infrastructure in the Strip.
At the same time, reports from international organizations indicate that **medical supplies in Gaza have reached critically low levels**, and that many hospitals have stopped functioning due to shortages of fuel and medical equipment, while thousands of patients and wounded urgently require medical evacuation outside the territory.
In practical terms, what has this Arab system offered? Nothing worth mentioning: statements and words scattered in the wind. What we need are actions. International organizations themselves face major restrictions in operating inside the Strip, international media are not allowed to enter freely, and Palestinians there live under the constant thunder of explosive gunfire and ongoing bombardment.
What has changed in their reality after the alleged ceasefire? Nothing. The minimum necessities of life are not available. Hundreds of thousands of families live in temporary tents after their neighborhoods were completely destroyed, and the population is facing a harsh winter with severe shortages of fuel and heating. The tents are torn away by the wind or sink into the mud, while the Arab ranks continue to dream of peace.
The problem is not only the absence of a ceasefire, but also the absence of an international mechanism capable of compelling the occupying power to implement one.
