8 The Cease-Fire & its Aftermath

Rubio took part in a high-level meeting in Paris on 9 October, where officials met to discuss transition plans for Gaza after the end of the Israeli war on the strip. Thursday’s meeting is expected to bring together representatives from France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, Turkey and Canada. These all form an anti-Gaza alliance. The Paris meeting will run alongside indirect negotiations in Egypt between Israel and Hamas and focused on its implementation and the extent of each country’s commitments to the process. For those of you who have read articles on this site from the beginning, know well that any critical decision regarding Project Israel, it needs the approval and consent of the Paris Rothschild’s. And, so it is once again we see that the same pattern follows. It seems that David de Rothschild – head of the French Rothschild’s- was happy and gave the consent for this cease fire to go ahead. Trump has called on Israel to stop launching strikes in Gaza, and proposed that Hamas release all remaining hostages within 72 hours of Israel suspending military operations and withdrawing its troops “to the agreed-upon line.”

Trump called Netanyahu on Friday to discuss the Hamas move, which he saw as good news. Bibi felt differently, telling Trump “This is nothing to celebrate, and that it doesn’t mean anything”. Trump has harshly rebuked Netanyahu over his reaction to Hamas’ statement concerning the Gaza peace plan. Hamas has agreed to free its hostages under a US proposal. “I don’t know why you’re always so f***ing negative. This is a win. Take it,” Trump replied. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas started on 9 October. Hamas has up to four days to respond to Trump’s 20-point peace proposal. The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, a hostages-for-prisoners exchange, a phased Israeli withdrawal, and a transitional international administration. It also envisions Gaza as a “deradicalized, terror-free zone,” where Hamas is excluded from governance. Trump said, “we’re gonna do about three or four days,” adding the group had “not much” room to negotiate. “Hamas is both going to be doing it or it’s not, and if it’s not, it’s going to be a sad end – -we have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don’t sign– – If Hamas rejects the plan or violates it, Israel will have his full backing,”. Netanyahu, who has endorsed the proposal, warned that Israel would “finish the job” of eradicating Hamas if the group refuses. Hamas was not part of the negotiations that produced the plan, which requires the group to disarm – a demand it has long rejected along with any proposals that exclude Palestinian self-determination. The first phase of Trump’s deal has been going very well. Hamas released all 20 living hostages and is working on handing over the bodies of those who were killed. Israel also withdrew its forces to the agreed-up line and is releasing 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving lengthy sentences. The plan, which calls for the complete disarmament of Hamas and the establishment of a new governing body in Gaza, could face serious problems later, however. Hamas has so far refused any discussion about its weapons, saying it would be ready to surrender them to a future Palestinian state. Meanwhile, Israel has been very strict about its demand to completely disarm Gaza. In that regard, the recent footage of the group’s fighters in Gaza is clearly damaging the image of victory that Israel has been trying to portray. Trump seems very keen on ending the war, but the issue of disarmament could soon lead to a new escalation in Gaza. Vance also confirmed on Wednesday the extreme difficulty of locating dead Israeli captives due to the amount of rubble in Gaza, shedding further doubt on Tel Aviv’s claims that Hamas was deliberately violating the truce and withholding the bodies. “This is not easy. It’s not gonna happen overnight,” he said, calling for a “little bit of patience.”On the 28^th, an Israeli bulldozer struck an unexploded bomb. It exploded and killed the driver. In response, Israel-always looking for a chance to blow up the cease fire, killed more than 100 Gazans and wounded more than 250 others. The IDF began launching strikes in Gaza right after the deadly attack.

Israeli Troops commit mass arson in Gaza City after Ceasefire

Soldiers bragged on social media as they set fire to residential buildings and food stores. Israeli occupation forces carried out a deliberate campaign of arson across Gaza City immediately after the ceasefire was declared. Soldiers from the Golani, Givati, Nahal, Kfir, and newly created ultra-Orthodox Hashmonaim brigades set fire to homes, shops, and infrastructure on 9–10 October as they retreated from the city. Many documented their acts online, sharing photos of flames consuming entire blocks with captions such as “Leaving a mark,” “A small souvenir,” and “Good riddance. “One Kfir Brigade member posted an image on social media beside a fire, writing, “On Friday, just before departure. Burning food so that it won’t reach the Gazans, may their names be erased” Another described the scorched buildings as “one last memory.” Among the facilities destroyed was the Sheikh Ajlin sewage treatment plant, the last functioning site capable of processing Gaza City’s wastewater. Its director, Monther Shoblaq of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, warned that the loss would drive the city’s sanitation “to point zero.” He questioned the logic behind the act, saying, “I mean, they signed a ceasefire. Why set it on fire?” The plant, funded by Germany’s KfW Development Bank at a cost of $19 million, had been slated for post-war reconstruction. Shoblaq cautioned that its destruction will force raw sewage directly into the sea, creating an environmental disaster that “could take years to reverse.” The burnings fit a long-standing Israeli practice of razing civilian infrastructure before withdrawal. 

In the Sheikh Radwan area, troops torched multi-story homes and graffitied walls with phrases such as “Enjoy, sluts” and “We shall return here.” Israeli Environment Minister Gila Gamliel boasted recently that “75 percent of the entire strip” had already been annihilated, while far-right cabinet member Itamar Ben Gvir mocked that “the only thing left in Gaza for The Electricity Company to disconnect now is the wastewater treatment plant.” As Trump hailed the ceasefire as “a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” an Israeli colonel summed up the reality left behind, saying, “We are leaving behind us only dust. There’s nothing here.”

Satellite imagery shows Israel holds about 40 active military positions beyond the yellow line.

Satellite imagery shows that the Israeli army holds about 40 active military positions in the part of the Gaza Strip outside the yellow line, the invisible boundary established under the first phase of the ceasefire to which its troops had to move, according to the deal. The images also show that Israel is upgrading several of these facilities, which help it maintain its occupation of 58 percent of Gaza even after the pullback by troops to the yellow line. While the majority of sites are concentrated in southern Gaza, every governorate hosts at least one military position. Some sites are built on bases established during the war, while others are newly constructed. The total number of sites in each governorate is:

North Gaza: 9

Gaza City: 6

Dairy el-Balah: 1

Khan Younis: 11

Rafah: 13

One of the most prominent military points in Gaza City is located on top of al-Muntar Hill in the Shujayea neighborhood of Gaza City. A comparison of images between September 21 and October 14 shows the base being paved and asphalted.

Where is the invisible yellow line?

Since the ceasefire took effect about two weeks ago, nearly 100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Strip, with some attacks occurring near the yellow line. On October 18, Israeli forces 11 members of the Abu Shaaban family in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense. Seven children and three women were among those killed when the Israeli military fired on the vehicle as the family attempted to return home to inspect it. The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a “suspicious vehicle” that had crossed the so-called yellow line. With no physical markers for the line, however, many Palestinians cannot determine the location of this invisible boundary. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has since said the army will install visual signs to indicate the line’s location.

In the first ceasefire phase, Israel retains control of more than half of the Gaza Strip, with areas beyond the yellow line still under its military presence. This has blocked residents of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoon, the neighborhoods of Shujayea, Tuffah, Zeitoun, most of Khan Younis, and all of Rafah City from returning home.

Even after the final withdrawal phase, Palestinians will be confined to an area which is smaller than before the war, continuing a pattern of Israel’s control over Gaza and its people. Many questions remain about how the plan will be implemented, the exact boundaries of Palestinian territory, the timing and scope of Israeli withdrawals, the role of the ISF, and the long-term implications for Palestinians across Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The plan is also silent on whether Israel gets to continue it’s aerial and sea blockade of Gaza, which has been in place for the past 18 years. The Israeli military is exerting control over more of Gaza than expected from the ceasefire deal with Hamas, a BBC Verify analysis has found. Under the first stage of the deal, Israel agreed to retreat to a boundary running along the north, south and east of Gaza. The divide was marked by a yellow line on maps released by the military and has become known as the “Yellow Line”. But new videos and satellite images show that markers placed by Israeli troops in two areas to mark the divide have been positioned hundreds of meters deeper inside the strip than the expected withdrawal line. Israeli Genocide Minister Israel Katz – who instructed troops to place the yellow blocks as markers – warned that anyone crossing the line “will be met with fire”. There have already been at least two deadly incidents near the boundary line.

US advances Gaza security force plan amid fragile ceasefire

The United States is in advanced stages of drafting a plan to deploy an international security force aka ISF, to Gaza.  The envisioned mission would include a newly trained and vetted Palestinian police force alongside military contributions from Arab and Muslim-majority countries. Countries such as Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Turkey have shown openness to participating, though concerns remain over security risks and political complexities. Officials say the force would be deployed under conditions acceptable to both the Palestinian Resistance and the occupation, with a core focus on monitoring Gaza’s borders with Egypt and the Israeli entity, and preventing weapons smuggling. Participation by Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar is considered critical. However, “Israel” has objected to Turkey’s involvement, viewing its military presence as politically unpalatable. Still, US officials are pushing for Ankara’s participation due to its key role in negotiating previous ceasefires and influencing Hamas leadership. “The Turks were very helpful in getting the Gaza deal, and Netanyahu’s bashing of Turkey has been very counterproductive,” one US official said. Washington has anointed Erdogan to lead the new changes in the region- especially in Syria, Azerbaijan and Iraq. Gaza is given to Turkey with the intent to calm his domestic population raging over the genocide.

 A central condition of the ISF’s deployment is Hamas’s agreement to relinquish its governing authority and disarm. Though officials acknowledge that such a move may not be realistic, they stress the importance of getting the Resistance to accept the deployment and avoid framing the ISF as an occupying force. The deployment of the ISF is directly linked to further withdrawal by “Israel” from the 50% of Gaza it currently occupies. The Trump plan outlines a 20-point roadmap where the presence of a neutral force is a prerequisite for de-escalation. US officials are reportedly close to finalizing a resolution that would provide international legal backing for the ISF, without formally designating it as a UN peacekeeping mission. This would allow Washington to maintain oversight and strategic control while encouraging global participation. In short, New York will be in control over everything in Gaza. Israel has no input into all of this. The ISF would likely be deployed first in southern Gaza, to establish a reconstruction zone and test the feasibility of broader operations.  “Most people who know the history of this conflict don’t give it a large chance for success, but at the same time, no one wants to get on the wrong, “according to a Palestinian source. Vance arrived in Israel on 21 October and held talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff and former Trump advisor Jared Kushner. Vance met with I Netanyahu on 22 October, after arriving in Israel a day earlier for talks on Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan.  Vance said in the meeting with Netanyahu that US officials were Israel to advance the ceasefire, not “monitor a toddler,” (meaning Israel). This meeting was about starting Phase 2 of the ceasefire deal. Aside from assassinations and the killing of civilians, Israel has also violated the deal by severely restricting the entry of aid into Gaza. The Gaza Government Media Office on the 23^rd, that only 986 aid trucks have entered the strip since the ceasefire took effect less than two weeks ago – just 15 percent of the 6,600 trucks that were supposed to be delivered by 20 October.

Gazans returning home

Gaza city after the cease fire October 20^th 2025-below

The story continues in Part 4.