UMass community reacts to Gaza ceasefire

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

50% : 'A ceasefire is obviously good as a win for the Palestinian people, but it's absolutely not where our solidarity ends.' The Oct. 10 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas gave some in the University of Massachusetts community hope of peace in the two-year-long conflict.
49% : The most recent ceasefire spanned 42 days, from January to March 2025, ending abruptly when Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Gaza.
48% : " "It is critical that people continue to push for a real solution that leads to self-determination for Palestinians, stability for Israel, and regional security," Mednicoff said.
46% : Nathan said that recent worries have been expressed at their meetings that "if a third party comes in, it's going to be challenging to weigh whether it should be the U.S., one of Palestine or Israel's neighbors or a nation entirely unaffiliated with the conflict." "This so-called 'peace' consists only of vague concepts of a plan, and does not address the underlying structural drivers of violence: namely Israeli intransigence and impunity in the face of international law," community organizer and history Ph.D candidate Eric Ross said.
40% : " He added that even when the bombing had ceased and aid was getting into the territory, the "Israeli soldiers were still firing on Palestinians." Since the Oct. 10 ceasefire's creation, it has been violated multiple times, including on Sunday, Oct. 19; Israel launched a wave of air strikes, killing 44 Palestinians, after Hamas fired on Israeli soldiers, killing two.
39% : Ross explained that the United States has long been a key player in the Israel-Hamas war, and Trump's ability to stop the violence, however temporarily, highlights America's acute involvement in the conflict.
34% : President Trump expressed support for Israel's actions, saying that they "should hit back" when their soldiers are killed.
32% : Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by attacking Israeli military in Rafah and refusing to return the bodies of deceased hostages.
23% : David Mednicoff, chair of the department and professor of Judaic and Near Eastern studies at UMass, said that Israel's Sept. 9 attack on Qatar, a U.S. ally, likely drove President Trump and other Arab countries to put pressure on both Israel and Hamas to strike a deal.

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