A Temporary Cease-Fire Announced for Gaza

A temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza War was announced — early on Wednesday morning Israeli time — by the combatants and by mediators in Qatar. The news spread across the U.S. late on Tuesday, due to time zones, that 50 women and children held hostage by Hamas in Gaza were to be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel over the next four days. It is during that brief period that the cease-fire is to hold.

The cease-fire comes amid international calls for the release of hostages and an increase in the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza. For Santa Barbara’s Congressmember Salud Carbajal, his office received calls or emails from hundreds of Central Coast constituents to “raise a potential cease-fire,” his staff reported. The public expressed concern for the release of hostages, the delivery of humanitarian aid, the protection of civilians, and the fight against a rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia at home.

In a press release issued after the pause in the war was announced, Carbajal echoed that “it is critical that the Biden administration continues to use its influence with our ally Israel to keep this fight within the bounds of international law.”

Carbajal, a member of the House Committee on Armed Services, said he “wholeheartedly” supported efforts toward a temporary pause in hostilities by the Biden administration. He highlighted that the last cease-fire was broken on October 7 by Hamas, emphasizing the need for vigilance in dealing with Hamas, given its history of holding hostages and misusing civilian safe zones.

“We have a difficult decision before us tonight, but it is a correct decision,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted in the Jerusalem Post. Netanyahu made clear that the war will continue until Israel “obtain(s) all our objectives, to destroy Hamas and to return all our captives and missing persons.”

Qatar was lead mediator in the negotiations, while the U.S. brokered the deal and applied diplomatic pressure on Israel to “protect civilians and create the foundation for a sustainable and long-term peace,” according to Rep. Carbajal.