Israel-Iran ceasefire sealed. Is there hope for a truce in Gaza next?

Israel-Iran Ceasefire: Iran and Israel confirmed a ceasefire on June 24, ending nearly a fortnight of military action against one another. The declaration came mere hours after United States President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that a truce was imminent.

However, later in the day, Trump said that both Israel and Iran had breached the ceasefire by launching attacks after the early Tuesday deadline to halt hostilities between the two nations.

Miles away in Gaza, Palestine, however, Israel continues its military operations, said to have killed hundreds of people since the Iran–Israel conflict began.

Faded from the spotlight

In recent weeks, as the Iran-Israel war grabbed global headlines, the crisis in the Palestinian territory faded from the spotlight. Since Israel’s bombardment of Iran began on June 13, more than 860 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli fire, according to CNN.

Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid in separate incidents in southern and central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 44, as health authorities announced the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000, news agency AP said, quoting witnesses and hospitals.

Israel has said it has fired warning shots at people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner, the agency said, quoting Palestinian health officials.

56,000 people have been killed so far

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Tuesday that Israel’s 21-month military operation in Gaza has killed 56,077 people so far. The present phase of war was sparked by Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage.

Many have been released by ceasefire or other agreements.

The death toll is by far the highest in any round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. The ministry said the dead include 5,759 who have been killed since Israel resumed fighting on March 18, shattering a two-month ceasefire.

After the Israel-Iran ceasefire news came in on Tuesday, voices both in Israel and abroad called for renewed focus on the war in the Gaza Strip, demanding the return of the hostages still held by Hamas, with Qatar saying it was working to resume negotiations between Israel and the terror group.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in a statement Tuesday said that the Israel-Iran “ceasefire agreement must expand to include Gaza.

“Those who can achieve a ceasefire with Iran can also end the war in Gaza,” said the group, which advocates for the return of the hostages held by Hamas. Fifty hostages remain in captivity in the enclave, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, according to the Israeli government.

Israeli opposition leader and left-wing The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan also called for an end to the fighting in Gaza. “And now Gaza. This is the moment to close that front as well. To bring the hostages home, to end the war. Israel needs to start rebuilding,” he wrote on X.

Qatar hopes for Israel-Hamas talks to resume

Qatar, which has been a lead mediator in ceasefire and hostage release talks between Israel and Hamas, said Tuesday that it hopes indirect talks will resume in the next two days. Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said talks were “ongoing,” adding that Qatar and Egypt are in touch with both sides to try to find a “middle ground” regarding the latest US-conceived truce on the table.

Qatar has also said that it hopes that indirect talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would resume soon. Hamas has said that it is open to a truce but is not willing to lay down its arms.

“Regarding the Gaza talks, discussions are ongoing with both the Israeli side and Hamas in an effort to reach an agreement based on the American draft,” said Prime Minister al-Thani.

Qatar, an independent Arab emirate on the west coast of the Persian Gulf, intervened on behalf of the President Donald Trump-led US administration and persuaded Iran to agree to a cease-fire with Israel, according to reports.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, also demanded that the ceasefire with Iran be widened to include Gaza. “The Palestinian presidency welcomed US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement,” Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s office said in a statement.

“We demand the completion of this step by achieving a ceasefire that includes the Gaza Strip,” it said.

‘Time to conclude a ceasefire for Gaza’

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking to his country’s parliament on Tuesday, welcomed the announced ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

“Today, the moment has come to conclude a ceasefire for Gaza,” he said.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that “there is no doubt that our major achievements in Iran also contribute to our goals in Gaza.”

'Unprecedented levels of violence against children'

The United Nations has repeatedly warned that a man-made famine is becoming increasingly likely in the territory. In a Tuesday statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called Israel’s actions “a likely war crime.”

Violence against children caught in multiple and escalating conflicts reached ‘unprecedented levels’ last year, a latest report by the United Nations has revealed. The highest number of violations has been reported in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti, according to the report released on June 19.

The Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ annual report on Children in Armed Conflict revealed a “a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations” against children under the age of 18 in 2024 compared to the previous year when these violations rose by 21 per cent, news agency AP reported.

(With agency inputs)