This week, International Insight will be examining the changes in the situations in both the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Israel and Hamas –

As we examined a month ago, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has come to a pause, as both groups agreed on a temporary ceasefire deal. This deal was broken up into three phases: the first entailing a hostage trade and complete ceasefire, the second requiring a permanent ceasefire deal to be negotiated, and the third seeing the reconstruction of Gaza.

And as of last month, Israel and Hamas were in the midst of the first phase, which was set to last six weeks. The six weeks of this first phase officially ended in the first week of March – with March 2 marking exactly six weeks since the start date of January 19 – and the deal should technically be in the midst of its second phase (which started sixteen days after the first phase), but neither phase of the deal seems close to being fulfilled.

As of Tuesday night (when this article was written), Israeli forces had killed 11 Palestinians within 24 hours and banned fuel, food, electricity, and humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza strip – which currently houses over 2 million Palestinians – in an effort to pressure Hamas into releasing at least half of the remaining hostages of which there are 24 living hostages and 35 who have passed.

In exchange for the release of half of these hostages, Israel promises to begin negotiations for a more permanent ceasefire deal. Meanwhile, Hamas has already begun ceasefire talks with other nations, including Egypt and the U.S.

According to the UN, the ban on aid and other necessities has disrupted access to supplies for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza which had just been restored over the last few weeks of ceasefire with fuel for backup generators at key facilities running low, among other issues.

In other news related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, on Friday, the Yemeni Houthi rebels promised to resume their attacks (which International Insight has previously examined) on Israeli and Israel-linked ships and other vehicles within four days if Israel didn’t allow the passage of aid and vital supplies to Gaza. Tuesday marked the end of that deadline.

Furthermore, Trump’s idea of relocating all Gazan Palestinians has taken on a life of its own, rapidly gaining popularity in Israel for a wide range of reasons, including security concerns and even as potentially beneficial to Palestinians.

Russia and Ukraine –

Meanwhile, a couple thousand miles north of Israel, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine seems to have the potential to take a turn for the better, as Ukraine agrees to a 30-day ceasefire proposal proposed by the US.

After American president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s negotiations over a mineral deal soured and ended in an argument two weeks ago, both nations seem to have mended their relationship – at least temporarily – and held talks at Saudi Arabia, which marked the first official meeting of the two nations since the aforementioned conflict.

Not only did US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia result in a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire (which Ukraine subsequently accepted), they also provided for the reinstatement of US security assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Now, in the words of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “the ball is in [Russia’s] court”. Currently, the US is set to have talks with Russia on Wednesday, which, in the words of Trump, will result in “some great conversations.”

Conclusion –

Both the Israel-Hamas and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have captured the world’s attention for the better part of the last few years. Now, the world is on the crux between peace and war.

The path to a more permanent peace has opened for all nations involved – all it requires is for the world’s leaders to prioritize the wellbeing of the world’s people over the interests of select individuals and groups.

But, as history has shown, the leaders of our world are seldom keen to actually look out for the greater good. And so, the burden falls to us – the people of the world – to push for our leaders to accept these ceasefire deals, to put an end to this needless violence, and to instill a lasting peace before any more blood is shed and any more innocent lives are lost.