‘Even a bad deal is a good deal’: UNL professor discusses Israel-Hamas ceasefire

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The 15-month war in Gaza could be coming to an end after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal on Wednesday.

Gaza’s health ministry says over 46,000 Palestinians died, and Israel says it lost more than 1,700 since the beginning of this conflict in October 2023.

Ari Kohen, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor of Judaic studies, said this agreement is a step toward ending the violence.

“There’s going to be a lot of analysis of this deal. A lot of people saying this is a good deal, a bad deal, it’s not enough,” he said. “The bottom line from my position many thousands of miles away is that even a bad deal is a good deal. It’s important to have a ceasefire, it’s important to have hostages released, and this deal does those things.”

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, there have been dozens of protests against the war here in Lincoln, taking place everywhere from city streets to outside of the General Dynamics factory, which makes weapons.

Protesters asked local officials to make a difference and called for an end to the war.

Now, that end is in sight.

Hamas will release 33 hostages during the first phase of the ceasefire, which starts Sunday.

Israel will let hundreds of Palestinian prisoners go at the same time.

But the Israeli Cabinet still needs to approve the deal.

Kohen suggests the timing of the ceasefire could have something to do with the change of presidency in the United States.

“The framework of this deal has been in place for months. Nobody took it until now,” he said. “It had a lot to do with the urgency of the conclusion of the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration. So certainly that is moving things forward if nothing else will.”

This is the first phase of a three-phase ceasefire, and officials said all sides will need to keep working together to make sure the peace holds.