Israeli Psychological Warfare and Bombing After The Ceasefire – Analysis

October 10, 2025

Israel has already violated the ceasefire. (Photo: social media, via QNN)

By Robert Inlakesh

Historically, the Israelis have always used tactics like these, often by bringing in the most force right before implementing a ceasefire.

Upon the announcement that a ceasefire agreement had been reached, the Israeli military decided to carry out more airstrikes against civilian targets, while repeatedly delaying the deal’s implementation. This occurred as Palestinians attempted to celebrate the developments, in some cases, losing their loved ones with whom they hoped to console at the end of the war.

On Thursday, at around 2 AM (Palestine time), the news of a ceasefire agreement broke. According to what was first published, the end of the war was supposed to come at 12 PM that day, leading to a surge in celebrations across the Gaza Strip.

Almost immediately, Israeli media outlets began complaining about the deal, with Yediot Ahronoth even positioning that “Israel lost the war”. Even on social media, Israelis began to express their outrage, with the negative response emojis on some Hebrew telegram channels outwaying the positive ones on posts specifically talking about the return of all Israeli captives.

Evidently, when midday in occupied Palestine came, the bombs kept falling. Israel committed a series of civilian massacres, including the bombing of tents and populated buildings, burying dozens under the rubble. These airstrikes even murdered the young son of prominent Palestinian journalist, Motassem al-Dalloul. 

Instead of abiding by the original deadline that everyone in Gaza had prepared for, the Israeli leadership decided instead to kick the can down the road. It didn’t just delay the implementation of the ceasefire agreement once, instead opting to change the time frame hour after hour, toying with the population it is committing genocide against, as it killed dozens more civilians in each interval.

Over a week ago, when US President Donald Trump announced that Hamas had accepted his ceasefire proposal, he called upon his Israeli allies to “immediately” stop dropping bombs on the Gaza Strip. Yet, the Israeli military and political leadership openly defied the American President’s orders, continuing their operations as usual and murdering hundreds of civilians.

This is not new, of course, as when the Gaza ceasefire that came into effect this January, the Israelis played a very similar game. At the time, the Israeli military even allowed for the official deadline of the ceasefire to pass, halting all their military operations temporarily and even removing their drones from the territory’s skies.

For around 15 minutes, the people of Gaza were left to celebrate. Al-Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was hoisted up onto the shoulders of locals as they celebrated the end of the war together.

Then, Israel began launching airstrikes throughout Gaza and committed a series of civilian massacres. The drones returned, and the military spokesperson announced that operations will continue until Hamas’ hands over a list of Israeli captives. 

This was a totally unnecessary violation of the ceasefire, yet it was clearly calculated to inflict a psychological blow on the already tormented and traumatized civilian population of Gaza. Why? Because the Israeli public was outraged at the celebrations in Gaza, and the military wanted to inflict pain on the people for daring to express their joy that the killing was over.

Historically, the Israelis have always used tactics like these, often by bringing in the most force right before implementing a ceasefire as to inflict a lasting impression on the minds of the civilian population. It is a petty tactic that is calculated as a means of psychological warfare and not random; we know this as the brutality they display has no military value whatsoever.

As phase one of the new ceasefire agreement approached, so did the realization that Israel’s so-called “Operation Gideon’s Chariots 2” was a flop and had failed. 

In other words, the Israeli military had sold its people on the lie that they were intent on occupying Gaza City, an operation that would have required a minimum of 200,000 soldiers and at least two years to complete. 

Instead, from the get-go, the Israelis barely managed to mobilize an additional 60,000 troops for their operation, many of whom they now claim are headed to the occupied West Bank instead.

(The Palestine Chronicle)