New Delhi, July 3 -- A ceasefire sounds straightforward: Fighting stops. Negotiations ensue. Ordinary citizens get a break from fighting - and some time to rebuild.

That's not what's happening in the volatile Mideast, where ongoing fighting still resembles a war long after ceasefire agreements were announced and President Donald Trump declared victory.

Israel is lately carrying out daily attacks on Gaza. The deal in Lebanon is a ceasefire in name only. As for Iran, low-level talks are continuing in Qatar this week under a 60-day deadline - a long way from a peace deal. People on the ground in the region, as well as some analysts and journalists, are increasingly objecting to anyone describing the state of the conflict as a "ceasefire."...