Guwahati, March 26 -- Marika Sosnowski, The University of Melbourne

Ceasefires are a uniquely complicated tool in armed conflict. This is because they exist at the intersection of war, law and politics.

Political scientist Cindy Wittke has suggested that attempts to define what a ceasefire is and what it entails will ultimately reveal a "lack of fit" with international law. This is because they are notoriously difficult to negotiate and enforce.

This "lack of fit" has perhaps been most obvious in the UN Security Council's deliberations over a ceasefire in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Countless resolutions have been proposed with different wording, such as:

"an immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire" (Octo...