After the Gaza ceasefire came into effect, why did Israel restart the war? Is it possible for nine countries to join forces to arrest Netanyahu?
On October 10,2025, the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire came into effect, the most substantial ceasefire since the large-scale Palestinian-Israeli conflict in 2023.
Under the agreement, Israel pledged to suspend military operations, while Hamas gradually released 20 Israeli hostages.
On the surface, this agreement brokered by the United States and guaranteed by Egypt and Qatar provides Gaza with a breathing space. But in fact, this is a political trap carefully designed by the United States and Israel.
U.S. President Trump’s administration buried a deadly veil in the agreement: demanding that Hamas first release the hostages and then discuss subsequent ceasefire and humanitarian aid.
The logic of this “pre-armament after-negotiation” is essentially to deprive Hamas of the negotiating code. As Hamas senior official Usama Hamdan said: “The international community must monitor Israel’s behavior and ensure its compliance with the agreement.”
But it turns out that Israel never intended to fulfill its commitments. After the agreement came into effect, Israel continued to close the Rafah port, Gaza's only humanitarian corridor, on the grounds that "Hamas failed to hand over the remains of all detainees on time," resulting in the inability of 600 aid trucks to enter the country every day.
Ironically, according to the Hamas administration on October 18, Israel had launched at least 47 attacks during the ceasefire, killing 38 Palestinians and wounding 143 others.
These violations of the agreement include "direct firing on civilians, bombing and deliberate attacks on civilians, as well as the arrest of multiple civilians." Relevant violations were recorded in all jurisdictions in the Gaza Strip, confirming that the Israeli army "has not stopped its aggression and continues to pursue killings and a policy of terrorizing the Palestinian people."
This tactic of “fighting side by side” exposes its strategic goal of completely destroying Hamas.
On October 19, 2025, the ceasefire in Gaza entered its ninth day when the Israel Defense Forces suddenly launched its largest attack on southern Gaza since the ceasefire, killing at least 45 Palestinians, including women and children.
This is not Israel’s first violation of the agreement, but a continuation of the long-standing cycle of “armistice – non-deal – escalation.”
Israel’s action is based on a triple consideration: Militarily, the Israeli army tested Hamas’s response through small-scale attacks, while fighting for time for ground troops to be re-deployed, and in the October 19 attack destroyed an approximately six-kilometer Hamas underground passage, which is seen as a strategic strike on the Gaza subway network;
Politically, Netanyahu’s administration faces pressure from domestic right-wing forces and needs to shift the attention of immigrants to the economic crisis and judicial reform controversy through military action, and Treasury Secretary Smotrich even openly supports Trump’s “clean Gaza” plan, advocating the migration of Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan;
Strategically, Israel sought to force Hamas to accept harsher ceasefire conditions by continued pressure, such as permanent disarmament and allowing Israel to control Gaza’s airspace and coastline, as Israeli Chief of Staff Zamil said: “Our goal is to ensure Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”
Just the day after the Israeli military resumed the attacks, on October 20, 2025, nine Southern European countries, including France, Italy and Spain, issued a joint statement calling for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and urging the international community to promote lasting peace in the Middle East.
Canadian Prime Minister Carney made it more clear that if Netanyahu enters the country, Canada will arrest him according to the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This is another judicial challenge issued by Western countries to Israeli leaders after Norway and Germany.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in November 2024 against Netanyahu and former defence minister Garant on charges of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in military operations in Gaza, including deliberate attacks on civilians and blocking humanitarian supplies.
Although Israel refuses to recognize the ICC's jurisdiction and accuses it of "anti-Semitic bias," more and more countries are beginning to take practical action.
However, the actual effectiveness of the nine-nation statement is subject to multiple constraints: as Israel's largest ally, the United States not only vetoed the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire, but also tried to weaken the authority of the ICC through the threat of sanctions. The Trump administration even signed an executive order prohibiting ICC officials from entering the United States;
There are differences in attitudes towards Israel within the EU. Hungary has withdrawn from the ICC and publicly welcomed Netanyahu's visit, while Belgium has said it is "unlikely" to execute the arrest warrant. This division has made the nine-country statement more at the level of political statements;
Even if Netanyahu visits Canada or Norway, it remains unknown whether these countries can break through U.S. pressure to carry out the arrest, and the ICC’s historical arrest warrants against Sudanese President Bashir and former Philippine President Duterte have failed to be effectively enforced due to political factors.
Israel’s military adventure is pushing Gaza to the abyss.According to UN data, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened sharply after the ceasefire agreement broke: more than 80% of the population relies on international aid, medical supplies can only beined for 72 hours, and child malnutrition rates have surged to 35%.
Hamas has warned it will take “all necessary measures” in response to the Israeli attack, while the Israeli military has threatened to launch “more severe retaliation.”
The reaction of the international community has been polarized: the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have condemned Israeli aggression, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a “two-country” plan, while the United States and some European countries continue to provide political cover for Israel.
This division has plunged the Gaza issue into a dead cycle of “conflict – ceasefire – re-conflict.”
Countries such as Russia and China have continuously called for the resolution of disputes through political negotiations and pushed the UN Security Council to play a more active role.
Although the nine-country statement has limitations, it marks that the international community's tolerance of Israel's actions has reached its limit. If Israel continues to ignore international law, it will face more severe sanctions and public opinion isolation.
The breakdown of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza once again proves that the "spirit of contract" between the United States and Israel is nothing more than a political tool. Israel's military adventures will not only fail to bring security, but will intensify hatred and lay greater hidden dangers for regional stability.
The joint statement of the nine countries and the actions of the International Criminal Court are powerful checks and balances against hegemonism and war crimes. However, to truly realize peace in the Middle East, we still need the joint efforts and political courage of the international community.
Only by abandoning the thinking of "using violence to contain violence" and returning to the right path of the "two-state solution" can the children of Gaza truly usher in the dawn of peace.
References:
Canada says Israel demands that Israel change its stance on "arresting Israeli Prime Minister on entry"-CCTV
Hamas: Israel violates ceasefire 47 times
Israel claims to have launched attacks on Hamas targets in the south of the Gaza Strip – Central News