Negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza have so far not amounted to a renewed cessation of hostilities. Israel wants the hostages back, while refusing to commit to ending the war. US envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly promised that aid would enter Gaza if the last hostage holding American citizenship was released. So, Hamas last month released Edan Alexander, but it accused Washington of reneging on this promise. This was a major setback and an indication that the US has limited leverage over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hence, the best we can hope for is a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the return of some hostages. However, the region’s countries should work to make sure the temporary ceasefire results in a definitive end to the war.

A ship operated by the activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition is heading toward Gaza — it has on board climate change activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham. The situation today is different from 2010, when a flotilla of six ships sailed from Turkiye to Gaza to break its siege. Nine peace activists were murdered by the Israeli military, with 30 more wounded. Israel is already under scrutiny for committing genocide in Gaza. Will it go ahead and kill people like Thunberg and Cunningham?

Even if Israel, which is on a murder spree, does not mind killing people like Thunberg and Cunningham, this would create great embarrassment for the US. It would have to tell Israel to stop. Hence, the likelihood of a partial or temporary ceasefire.

The other issue is the looming famine. Will the US allow a famine? This would galvanize international public opinion, as well as public opinion at home. US President Donald Trump, who is trying to implement his domestic agenda, certainly does not need discontent. He wants an end to the war. However, Israel has a strong lobby inside the US and, so far, it has been able to get away with all its crimes. The US has refrained from openly criticizing Israel or even reducing the support it offers Tel Aviv.

However, a ceasefire is overdue even by American standards. The US is pressuring Israel to let aid in and this requires a ceasefire. Several Israeli officials have advocated starving Gaza. It is obvious that weaponizing food is an official strategy. Despite its strength, it is becoming harder and harder for the pro-Israel lobby in the US to impose Tel Aviv’s agenda on the American government. Israeli government actions are putting the US in a position where it has to defend the indefensible.

Israeli government actions are putting the US in a position where it has to defend the indefensible

Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib

In this respect, the region’s countries should act quickly and smartly. The first issue is to ask for the aid caravan to go to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing and be inspected by UN officials, not Israeli. This will probably require a UN Security Council resolution. Currently, three countries on the

UNSC are strongly supportive of Palestine: Algeria, Somalia and Pakistan. They could suggest a resolution. Middle Eastern countries should then use their collective muscle to make sure the US does not veto the resolution.

Arab and regional countries should also capitalize on initiatives like the boat that has Thunberg and Cunningham on board. International nongovernmental organizations should be invited and encouraged to go into Gaza. The international media should go inside Gaza and document the horrors that Israel keeps on denying. In addition to the media and international aid organizations, the clergy should play a role. The Christian clergy should be mobilized to send its own aid caravan or flotilla. They could not go unless they had protection from the UN. Again, UN protection should be requested.

Once all those people are in Gaza and there are multinational forces protecting them, it would be hard for Israel to bomb the Strip. Would the Israeli military bomb a cardinal from the Vatican or Thunberg? If it did, would Trump or European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen be able to defend it? Netanyahu would try to derail such an effort. He wants to continue the war. The war means his coalition will continue. Once his coalition breaks apart and he is out of power, he might be sent to jail. Hence, he will fight tooth and nail.

This is why regional cooperation is needed. Middle Eastern countries should coordinate among themselves and punch with all their weight. They should make sure that, once there is a ceasefire, even a temporary one, that the media, civil society organizations and the clergy head to Gaza en masse. This would create a situation whereby Israel could not resume the war.

Middle Eastern countries should coordinate among themselves and punch with all their weight

Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib

They should also apply pressure directly on Israel. Renowned Emirati scholar Abdulkhaleq Abdulla has suggested that Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE should cut their diplomatic ties with Israel in response to its refusal to allow an Arab delegation of foreign ministers to reach Ramallah at the weekend. This is the sort of collective leverage that works. Israel cannot afford to be isolated by these countries. So, they should collectively threaten to cut diplomatic relations if the media, civil society groups and the clergy are denied entry to Gaza.

The short-term goal of this effort would be to use aid and the protection of aid to create a situation in which Israel will not be able to hit Gaza again. This way, the war would end without any direct confrontation with Israel by any of the region’s countries. The war would end simply because Israel could not resume it. However, the long-term objective of this effort would be to counter Israel’s narrative and influence.

The aid organizations, clerics and media should, in addition to helping people, document what has happened. The likes of Egypt, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan should organize a joint operation room to engage with civil society, media organizations and think tanks around the world. They should use their diplomatic muscle and leverage to relay the horrors committed by Israel. Such an effort would not only kill the Israeli narrative, but it could also be the base on which the region’s countries can aggressively push the world to recognize a sovereign and independent Palestinian state.

• Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.