The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza in late January 2025 was paraded by Western media as a diplomatic breakthrough that might finally curb the bloodshed—a potential turning point for peace in the region. But within weeks, the grim reality became undeniable: this was never about peace. It was a strategic pause—a bait and switch—where Israel regroups, the world looks away, and Palestinians brace for the next onslaught.
Ceasefires typically conjure images of humanitarian relief and de-escalation—respites from violence leading to lasting peace. For the U.S. and Israel, they serve a darker purpose: strategic pauses that enable the consolidation of power, territorial expansion, and preparation for further violence, as detailed in this analysis.
Rather than a step toward resolution, the ceasefire served as little more than a PR maneuver, masking the ongoing cycle of destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people and the broader Arab region.
This cycle is enabled by both sides of the U.S. political establishment, who continue to push the narrative that “every single thing that is happening in Gaza is happening because of Hamas,” as State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce recently said in response to the news that 15 Palestinian rescue workers and medics were executed by the Israelis “one by one.” Their bodies and clearly marked vehicles were then dumped in a mass grave.
The message is clear: Palestinian lives are disposable, and Washington exists to provide alibis for their extermination while using the American public to work and pay for it all.
The facade has collapsed. What we are witnessing is not a conflict spiraling out of control, but a calculated campaign laundered through the language of diplomacy—regardless of which party occupies the White House.
‘Gaslit Gaza Greenlight’
In October 2024, during the Biden administration, I outlined Israel’s blueprints for aggressive territorial expansion, stretching across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and now Syria. In early 2025, while aboard Air Force One, Trump affirmed this reality, describing Gaza as “literally a demolition site” that needed to be “clean[ed] out” for redevelopment. In a later briefing, he encouraged us to “think of it as a big real estate site.”
Initially, Trump suggested the displacement “could be temporary” or “long-term.” By early February, during Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, the President confirmed the plan would be permanent. As journalist Caitlin Johnstone writes, the U.S. and Israel have “a very extensive history of grabbing land from Palestinians and then refusing to give it back.”
But these actions would directly violate international law which prohibits forcible transfer of occupied populations—a war crime under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Despite this, these actions align perfectly with the long-standing goals of Israel, Trump’s megadonors, and key figures like Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has deep ties to the Israeli government, operates on its behalf, and has openly lobbied for “very valuable” beachfront property in Gaza.
As Ben Reiff of +972 Magazine reported, Trump’s statements weren’t so much “a blueprint” as they were “a green light for Israel’s government and defense establishment to begin imagining scenarios for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.” With the blueprints already established, it didn’t take Israel long to act.
They just needed full U.S. support—which they had—and a “‘Made in America‘ stamp of approval” to make their vision of ethnic cleansing seem normal and mainstream, which Trump’s statements provided them with.
These policies of ethnic cleansing and genocide serve the broader strategy of dismantling any possibility of a sovereign Palestinian state. By establishing “facts on the ground” through illegal settlements and military occupation, the goal is the expansion of Greater Israel—systematically eroding Palestinian territorial integrity and self-determination.
Like past agreements, this ceasefire has been little more than a camouflage, concealing the consolidation of Israel’s gains and preparations for further encroachment. In reality, Israel never intended to move past the first phase. The cycle of violence, displacement, and land appropriation continues unabated, with the U.S. playing a central role in facilitating it.
‘In It To Spin It’
The Gaza ceasefire—repeatedly violated by Israel—went into effect just days before Trump’s second term began. On paper, it was the same agreement from May 2024, which promised a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, an exchange of prisoners, and a permanent end to the violence. In reality, it was a strategic deception, sabotaged by the U.S. and Israel with the full intention of resuming hostilities.
What the world has witnessed since then seems to have been political theater designed to disguise a larger agenda. This was anticipated in advance, whether through campaign promises to be the “most pro-Israel administration in U.S. history,” the influential Zionist billionaires backing the Trump administration, his pro-Israel cabinet, or Trump’s claims about being Israel’s “best friend” and letting them “finish the job.”
For those paying attention to the pattern, the conclusion was unavoidable: it was clear this ceasefire would be nothing more than a cover for the continuation of Israel’s U.S.-backed expansion.
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Yet, Western media and public discourse continued framing Israel as “America’s greatest ally,” erasing its atrocities while legitimizing its use of U.S. resources to carry out mass violence against the Palestinian people and the broader region.
Israel’s exploitation goes beyond financial; it is deeply ideological and psychological. By positioning itself as a victim, Israel manipulates the American public into bankrolling its expansionist violence, all under the guise of “self-defense.” This translates materially into arms deals, military assistance, intelligence operations, surveillance, policing of dissent, media cover, and political support—all weaponized against Palestinians and other factions of Arab resistance for standing against Israel’s international crimes in Palestine.
This inversion of reality, where the oppressor is portrayed as the oppressed and the victims vilified as aggressors, was starkly revealed in a recent statement by President Trump:
Over the past 16 months, Israel has endured a sustained, aggressive, and murderous assault on every front, but they’ve fought back bravely. What we have witnessed is an all-out attack on the very existence of the Jewish state in the Jewish homeland. The Israelis have stood strong and united in the face of an enemy that has kidnapped, tortured, raped, and slaughtered innocent men, women, children, and even little babies.
It isn’t the fact that he said it, but what it represents within the wider consensus—including a significant number of American Christians. What makes remarks like these so awful is the outright dishonesty and distortion of the truth.
There is, in fact, an exhaustive and ongoing body of evidence documenting the kidnapping, torture, rape, and slaughter of innocent men, women, children, little babies, and elderly—but not by Palestinians. Every atrocity Trump attributed to Palestinians has been extensively documented as Israel’s own conduct.
Trump’s statement is 100% correct, but it flips the narrative of who is the victim and who is the perpetrator. It is Israel that has carried out these crimes. This isn’t a matter of opinion. And statements like these aren’t just propaganda; it’s a form of psychological warfare that dehumanizes Palestinians and numbs the global conscience.
If we corrected for the narrative distortion, his statement would read as follows:
Over the past 16 months, [Palestinians have] endured a sustained aggressive and murderous assault on every front, but they’ve fought back bravely. What we have witnessed is an all-out attack on the very existence of [a Palestinian] state in the [Palestinian] homeland. The [Palestinians] have stood strong and united in the face of an enemy [Israel] that has kidnapped, tortured, raped and slaughtered innocent men, women, children, and even little babies.
The first version dominates Western media. The second is documented fact—from the almost 18,000 dead children to the systematic sexual violence against Palestinian detainees—atrocities that the U.S. media ignores, framing it instead as Israel defending itself.
There’s been no evidence provided to substantiate claims like those made by Trump and many others on Israel’s behalf. The reports and allegations put forward have been fabrications, designed to manipulate the public into consenting to the actual atrocities being committed by the U.S., UK, and Israel, among others. These claims have been repeatedly debunked for their lack of evidentiary standards and journalistic integrity, yet they persist, fueling a narrative that justifies carnage and erases Palestinian suffering.
Far from a cessation of violence, the ceasefire served as a facade for Israel’s ongoing aggression and expansion while Washington’s new management settled in.
‘Palestinians Cease, Israelis Fire’
In a stark admission, President Donald Trump gave Israel “the green light to rain fire and hell on Gaza.” For those who hoped Trump might be a “President of peace,” reality is proving to be quite different. But this moment underscores the brutality of a system designed to serve the ultra-wealthy and ruling elite—not everyday people, and certainly not peace.
Under the current administration, U.S. policy has not only enabled but actively encouraged this escalation, with devastating consequences for the people of Gaza and beyond.
Trump could have told Netanyahu to implement phase two of the ceasefire deal and bring the remaining captives home. Instead he gave Netanyahu the green light to impose a new blockade and now a new massacre of defenseless civilians in the besieged Gaza death camp. Israel First.
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) March 18, 2025
As journalist Michael Tracey noted,
If history is any guide, Israel will use the slightest pretext to claim Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement. And the incoming administration says if Israel decides they need to ‘go back in,’ they will have full U.S. support.
This is… just the most recent of a series of ceasefire agreements reached…
The regular pattern is for Israel… to disregard whatever agreement is in place, while Hamas observes it—as Israel has officially recognized…
— Noam Chomsky, openDemocracy (September 10, 2014)
President Trump reportedly “emphasized” that the “temporary” ceasefire could collapse with the “full backing” of the U.S., lifting “all the remaining restrictions” on munitions, enabling Israel to resume its genocidal and ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza with “tremendous force.”
So far, this has unfolded as predicted. Israel “violat[ed] the original ceasefire agreement,” reported The Cradle. “Phase one of the Gaza ceasefire was due to end on Saturday [March 1st]. Israel [pushed] for the extension… and… continuously delayed the start of negotiations for the second phase.” Even Israeli media outlets confirm this.
The U.S. and Israel altered the terms of the ceasefire, imposed unacceptable conditions on Hamas, and it led to further displacement, destruction, and loss of innocent Palestinian lives, continuing to pave the way for ‘Greater Israel’ and what some critics have dubbed ‘Gaza-Lago’, the ‘MAGA Strip’, or a Trump-Gaza Riviera.
Israel has already prepared and executed its “hell plan,” cutting all electricity and water to Gaza while blocking food, fuel, and humanitarian aid. Food, water, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies must never be used as weapons of war or coercion against civilians.
Under U.S. Leahy Law, the United States cannot provide military aid to foreign forces engaged in war crimes or gross violations of human rights (GVHR) such as these. Yet Trump’s administration continues to funnel weapons to Israel—including $12 billion in arms deals and military aid—while lifting all restrictions on munitions and military support, as if Israel had been ‘restrained’ under Biden.
In response, Hamas condemned “the cheap blackmail practiced by Netanyahu and his extremist government against our people by using humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip in negotiations.” The Hamas official stated that Israel’s “conduct and breaches during the first phase of the agreement prove beyond doubt that its government was intent on collapsing the agreement and actively worked toward this goal.”
“We [Hamas] remain committed to moving forward with the agreement and its second phase and hold the occupation fully responsible for violating it,” senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan declared. They are even prepared to release all hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire—something the U.S. and Israel are unwilling to do, as will be evident from the statements below.
Trump’s National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz, encapsulated the administration’s stance stating, “Hamas would like to believe that” Israel is finished in Gaza, but “Gaza has to be fully demilitarized, Hamas has to be destroyed to the point that it cannot fully reconstitute.” In other words, the goal is not peace, but the complete eradication of Palestinian resistance to occupation, which is fully justified under international law.
Waltz further emphasized Israel’s “right to fully protect itself,” a common talking point used to justify Israel’s actions as a “right to self-defense.” While Israel, like any state, has a right to protect its citizens, its actions have not been defensive. They’ve been offensive—part of a broader agenda of occupation, colonization, and territorial expansion.
This broader military posture is not limited to Israel’s invasion of Gaza. It includes illegal occupation of the West Bank, Southern Lebanon, and Syria—further compounded by U.S. attacks on Yemen and the looming threat of war with Iran.
Despite Western intelligence assessments acknowledging that Iran’s nuclear weapons program does not exist, the U.S. imposed a two-month deadline to end the nonexistent program, while both the U.S. and Israel prepare to bomb Iran for that program—which doesn’t exist. This doesn’t even touch on the simultaneous U.S. escalation towards war with China and the failure to broker peace in Ukraine.
As Israel’s full blockade on Gaza resumed in March, Yemen threatened to reimpose a blockade on Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea, holding Israel accountable for its violations of international law—much like under the Biden administration. In response, the U.S. resumed its bombing campaign in Yemen without congressional approval, killing and wounding civilians while bombing vital infrastructure. Instead of working to prevent Israel’s killing of civilians, as Yemen is doing, the U.S. defends Israel by killing more innocent people.
These tactics, mirroring those under Biden, reveal a troubling truth: both parties serve the interests of a small, powerful elite rather than the American public, or anyone critical of Israel and U.S. foreign policy.
The consistency of these actions reflects broader geopolitical interests—an unyielding drive for control, military superiority, and economic dominance, all for profit and power—perpetuating cycles of violence under the guise of protecting “security” and “stability.”
In the final message from one of the recent Palestinian journalists directly targeted by the IDF:
‘I ask you now: do not stop speaking about Gaza. Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories—until Palestine is free.’
~ For the last time, Hossam Shabat, from northern Gaza. X/Twitter—(Source)
Derek Albert Schurbon is an independent citizen journalist with a focus on U.S. foreign policy and narrative manipulation—writing on topics helping us to move in a brighter direction, collectively awaken, and create a healthier world. Derek also works in the behavioral/mental health field and teaches mindfulness meditation for mental and emotional well-being, and cutting through biases and inner and outer false narratives.