Published on 5/30/2026
From Gaza to Lebanon, all the way to the United States and Iran, the term “ceasefire” is frequently used, as it is assumed that agreements will be reached through negotiations between the conflicting parties, but it is often violated, as is currently happening in Gaza and Lebanon.
According to a report by Al Jazeera prepared by Azhar Ahmed, the ceasefire is defined and regulated by international law and international humanitarian law, including regulations relating to the laws and customs of land warfare.
Read also
list of 2 itemsend of list
The agreement is defined as a regulation to stop military activities for a certain period of time, in all or part of the conflict zone, and is adopted for strategic military or even humanitarian purposes, without necessarily including political or military conditions.
The term’s roots go back to the military order “cease fire”, and it is sometimes expressed using the concept of truce, truce, or cessation of hostilities.
A ceasefire may be declared unilaterally, or it may be the result of negotiation, as Article 15 of the Geneva Convention stipulates that a ceasefire allows the implementation of arrangements related to the collection, exchange, and transfer of the wounded and sick from the battlefield.
Objectives and types
The Al Jazeera report indicates that the main goal of the ceasefire is not necessarily humanitarian, but rather it is a military decision that responds to strategic goals, and its objectives vary between assembling forces, assessing the capabilities of the opponent, or paving the way and creating the climate for negotiations that may be for the exchange of prisoners or even peace talks.
The types of ceasefire vary according to the mechanism of announcement:
– Unilateral: A declaration issued by one of the warring countries to stop its military operations without requiring the approval of the other party.
– Contractual (mutual) agreement: A decision agreed upon between the warring parties, often through international or UN mediation, to stop hostilities according to conditions binding on all.
The formal contractual ceasefire agreement is the most binding formula, and contemporary examples include:
– Gaza ceasefire agreement
– Ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel
– Ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran
The contractual agreement interrupts military operations and is subject to certain binding rules, while “all parties to the conflicts must respect the humanitarian ceasefire truce.”
Article 23 of the Hague Convention, Security Council Resolution No. 2175 of 2014, the Geneva Conventions and United Nations resolutions on humanitarian ceasefires affirm that “all parties to conflicts must respect the humanitarian ceasefire truce.”
Article (40) stipulates that “every serious violation of the armistice agreement by one party gives the other party the right to consider it terminated,” and Article (41) stresses that “violation of the terms of the armistice gives the right to demand only the punishment of violators and the payment of compensation for the damages incurred.”
Are the signatory countries committed?
The Al Jazeera report indicates that the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip has entered into force since October 10, 2025; Since that date, the official statistics of the Government Information Office say that Israel has committed more than 3,000 violations, with a heavy human toll of more than 900 martyrs and about 3,000 wounded.
As for Lebanon, the recent ceasefire agreement, concluded under American auspices, entered into force on April 16, and contrary to the legally stipulated and accepted formulas, the text of the agreement published by the US State Department grants Israel the right to “reserve its right to take all necessary measures for self-defense at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks,” and “this right is not restricted by the cessation of hostilities.”
In addition, although the agreement stipulates that Israel will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military or other state targets within Lebanese territory by land, air or sea, Israel translated this on the ground, with violations represented in hundreds of raids and dozens of evacuation orders.
As for the recent US-Iranian war, the two countries agreed on April 8 to a ceasefire that included the suspension of US military operations in exchange for Tehran’s commitment to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a safe and immediate manner to international navigation. However, the operations did not stop, and the Strait of Hormuz was not opened.
The Al Jazeera report concludes that the term ceasefire remains oscillating between international legal texts approving and binding it, and a reality in which the balance is tilted in favor of the stronger party.
