Israel has officially agreed to ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. But that has not meant any de-escalation, as Israeli forces and settlers press further into Palestinian-administered areas of the occupied West Bank, deeper into civilian space in Gaza, and more aggressively into the heart of occupied East Jerusalem.The pattern, documented across multiple fronts this week – including a surge of strikes in Lebanon despite the announced extension of the ceasefire there – suggests that ceasefires have functioned less as true pauses in hostilities than as cover for accelerated fact-making on the ground. It was against this backdrop that Palestinians in the West Bank and, for the first time since 2006, in part of Gaza, went to the polls on Saturday in municipal elections – despite many Palestinians doubting that these votes would be able to bring about change.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listGaza: Police targeted, children killed, elections held in rubbleIn Gaza, the week brought some of the heaviest strikes on civilian and police infrastructure since the October ceasefire. Forty Palestinians were killed from April 20 to April 27, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.They included three police officers killed in a drone strike in Khan Younis on April 21, five people – including three children – slain in an air strike on the courtyard of a mosque in Beit Lahiya on April 22, and eight people killed in an attack on a police vehicle in Khan Younis on April 24. A separate attack in Gaza City also killed two police officers on the same day. Advertisement On Saturday, Islam Karsou, a woman pregnant with twins, and her two young children were killed in artillery shelling near Kamal Adwan Hospital. On Monday, 15-year-old Ayham al-Omari was killed by Israeli fo …
