English

Israel massacres dozens in Gaza after Biden announces ceasefire

President Joe Biden, center, with Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Sec. of State Anthony Blinken, right, speaks at the White House on the announcement of a ceasefire deal in Gaza. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

In a video statement Wednesday afternoon, US President Joe Biden announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between Hamas and Israel and would be implemented on Sunday. “A ceasefire and a hostage deal have been reached between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said.

Biden claimed that the first phase of the agreement would include the “withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas.”

Israel reacted to Biden’s announcement by continuing to massacre dozens of people in Gaza. More than 30 people were killed in bombings on refugee camps, residential neighborhoods and hospitals Wednesday following the announcement, on top of 50 that had been killed earlier in the day.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following Biden’s announcement, “An official statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be issued only after the completion of the final details of the agreement, which are being worked on at present.”

It subsequently said in a statement, “The Israeli negotiations team in Doha reported to Netanyahu of a last-minute attempt by Hamas to withdraw from a clause in the agreement,” adding, “Netanyahu instructed the negotiations team to uphold the understandings that were agreed upon and to reject the last-minute blackmail attempts by Hamas.”

Regardless of whether an agreement is finally reached and whether Israeli troops formally withdraw from Gaza, any “ceasefire” would continue the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the brutal apartheid regime to which the Palestinians are subjected.

Notably, the Israeli “ceasefire” with Lebanon worked out in November has been followed by almost daily bombardment of Lebanese territory by Israel, and there is every reason to believe this would be the case for Gaza as well.

In fact, if the Israeli military pulls back from Gaza, it is because it will have achieved its aim of leveling the majority of buildings and massacring a significant portion of its population.

More than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the beginning of the genocide, according to official figures. But these figures are broadly considered a major underestimation, with two reports published in the Lancet estimating the deaths at between 70,000 and 186,000—or more.

In announcing the ceasefire, Biden boasted of the military objectives achieved by the US-backed Israeli onslaught on Gaza and its rampage throughout the Middle East.

“Because of the pressure that Israel built on Hamas backed by the United States, Hamas’ longtime leader, Yahya Sinwar, was killed,” Biden said, boasting of having murdered the leader of the political organization Israel was negotiating with.

Biden said he “organized the coalition of nations” to support Israel against Iran and enabled “strong” Israeli attacks on Iran, “destroying Iran’s air defenses.”

He added, “then Hezbollah, another of Hamas’ strongest backers, was significantly weakened on the battlefield, and its leadership was destroyed.” Biden was referencing the systematic murder of virtually all of the leaders of one of the largest political organizations in Lebanon, including the September 27, 2024, murder of Hassan Nasrallah using 20 massive US-provided bunker buster bombs. Thousands of people were injured, and dozens killed, in a mass terrorist attack by Israel throughout Lebanon on September 17 and 18.

Biden boasted, “And so now the terror network that once protected and sustained Hamas is far weaker. ... Iran is weaker than it has been in decades. Hezbollah is badly degraded, and after more than 15 months of war, Hamas’ senior leaders are dead. Thousands of Hamas fighters are dead, and the military formations have been destroyed with nowhere to turn.”

In these remarks, Biden made clear the military motivations of the US’s support of the Gaza genocide. The systematic and deliberate massacre of the Palestinian people was carried out to shape what Netanyahu proclaimed as the “New Middle East.”

In his remarks before the United Nations on September 27, 2024, Netanyahu showed a map of the Middle East with the Palestinian territories subsumed into Israel, and with “Israel and its Arab partners forming a land bridge connecting Asia and Europe.”

Biden used virtually the same language as Netanyahu in his remarks Wednesday, declaring that the war created the conditions for “an economic corridor from India across the Middle East to Europe.” He declared, “That vision can now become a reality.”

The Gaza genocide is the latest and most horrific crime in the decades-long imperialist-backed drive by Israel to fully annex Palestinian territories. In the 31 years since Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shook hands at the signing of the Oslo Accords, Israel has carried out a relentless and escalating onslaught against the Palestinians—facilitated by the bourgeois Arab regimes.

Concluding his remarks, Biden declared, “This deal was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented for the most part by the next administration. In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team.”

Last week, Trump threatened that “all hell will break out” in the Middle East unless Hamas surrenders, while his vice president, JD Vance, has vowed to enable Israel to “knock out” Hamas. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump White House is preparing a major attack on Iran, a claim that Trump refused to condemn.

The White House has sought to claim that a “ceasefire” is Biden’s legacy. No, his legacy is sponsorship of the Gaza genocide, and turning over the White House to a fascist who will only further intensify the imperialist bloodbath throughout the Middle East and around the world.