Assessing the Aftermath: Gaza, the Ceasefire, and Beyond

On Sunday, January 19th, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, bringing to an ostensible halt the 15-month war that had killed, by conservative estimates, 45,000 Palestinians and reduced nearly the entire Gaza Strip to rubble. Similar in its particulars to a deal that was nearly struck in May 2024, the agreement—coincident with the arrival in office of President Donald Trump—raises obvious questions about its timing, its rationale (for Hamas, Israel, and the United States), and the local, regional, and international situation that obtains in its wake. Why did Hamas and Israel agree to a ceasefire now? And as hostilities subside, what sense can we make of this genocidal war, which by its reach and destructive magnitude has perhaps permanently transformed both the region and the world?

Join us Thursday, February 6th, at 1pm ET, as BISR faculty Ajay Singh Chaudhary, Barnaby Raine, Abdaljawad Omar, and K. Soraya Batmanghelichi take the occasion of the Gaza War ceasefire to assess the course and toll of the conflict, the apparent aims of its belligerents (including the United States), and the prospects for a permanent peace (and in what form). We will ask: Is the ceasefire a product of stalemate? Why, in particular, was Israel, for all its destructive power, unable to decisively defeat Hamas? What does the ceasefire mean for domestic politics in both Gaza and Israel? And how will Israel’s frustrations in Gaza redound to its policies and hostilities vis-à-vis the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran? How can we understand the United States’s role in enabling the war and at last facilitating a ceasefire? What is the geopolitical situation today? Are Palestinians any closer to liberation or the creation of an independent or binational state? Will peace prevail, not only in Gaza, but throughout the Middle East and beyond?

The event is free to attend and will stream live to the BISR public Facebook page. Please RSVP below.

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