The cease-fire that took effect in Syria on Friday at midnight has held, barely, for two days now in most of the country. The fighting that still continues is mainly along the front lines against the Islamic State (ISIS), which isn’t party to the deal.

Nevertheless, the Russian air force Sunday bombed several towns north of Aleppo controlled by rebel groups that are party to the cease-fire. A top official with the Syrian opposition has blamed the government and its allies for cease-fire violations that killed more than two dozen people, warning it will be difficult to resume peace talks next month. Raid Hijab, who heads the High Negotiations Committee, an umbrella for opposition and rebel factions, said in a statement directed to UN chief Ban Ki-moon that Russian, Iranian and government forces have not stopped hostilities since the truce went into effect.

The Israeli defense establishment, meanwhile, remains skeptical about the cease-fire’s durability. In Israel’s view, the containment of hostilities in the last two days is due mainly to the exhaustion on both sides. After almost five years of bloody battles, all sides are using the cease-fire to regroup, give their fighters a much-needed breather and take deliveries of logistical and humanitarian aid for combatants and civilians alike.

But it’s doubtful that this mutual interest in a cease-fire will last for long, since the agreement has two glaring weaknesses. One is that some parties to the fighting aren’t included in the truce. The other is that it lacks any plan for shifting from a short-term truce to a long-term diplomatic agreement that could actually end the civil war, which has so far claimed almost half a million lives.

Read the article in full at Haaretz.