Ceasefire A ceasefire ( or truce ) is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions . Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty , but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces . An armistice is a formal agreement to end fighting . Historical examples . World War I . During World War I , on December 24 , 1914 , there was an unofficial ceasefire as France , the United Kingdom , and Germany observed Christmas . No treaty was signed , and the war resumed after a few days . Korean War . On November 29 , 1952 , the newly U . S . president - elect Dwight D . Eisenhower , went to Korea to learn what might end the Korean War . With the United Nations ' acceptance of India ' s proposed Korean War armistice , the KPA , the PVA , and the UN Command ceased fire with the battle line approximately at the 38th parallel . Upon agreeing to the ceasefire agreement , the belligerents established the Korean Demilitarized Zone ( DMZ ) , which has since been patrolled by the KPA and the joint ROKA , US , and UN Command . The Korean Demilitarized Zone runs northeast of the 38th parallel ; to the south , it travels west . The old Korean capital city of Kaesong , site of the armistice negotiations , originally lay in the pre - war ROK , but now is in the DPRK . The United Nations Command ( supported by the United States ) , the North Korean Korean People ' s Army , and the Chinese People ' s Volunteers , signed the Armistice Agreement on July 27 , 1953 , to end the fighting . The Armistice also called upon the governments of South Korea , North Korea , China and the United States to participate in continued peace talks . For his part , ROK President Rhee attacked the peace proceedings . The war is considered to have ended at this point , even though there was no peace treaty . Vietnam War . On January 15 , 1973 , President Richard Nixon ordered a ceasefire of the aerial bombings in North Vietnam . The decision came after Dr Henry Kissinger , the National Security Affairs advisor to the president , returned to Washington from Paris France with a draft peace proposal . Combat missions continued in South Vietnam . By January 27 , 1973 , all warring parties in the Vietnam War signed a ceasefire as a prelude to the Paris Peace Accord . Persian Gulf War . After Iraq was driven by U . S . - led coalition forces out of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm , Iraq and the U . N . Security Council signed a ceasefire agreement on March 3 , 1991 . Throughout the 1990s , the U . N . Security Council passed 16 Resolutions calling for Iraq to disarm the WMDs program unconditionally and immediately . Because no peace treaty was signed after the Gulf War , the war still remained in effect , such as an assassination attempt of former U . S . President George H . W . Bush by Iraqi agents while on a visit to Kuwait and Iraq was bombed in June 1993 as a response , Iraqi forces firing on coalition aircraft patrolling the Iraqi no - fly zones , U . S . President Bill Clinton ' s bombing of Baghdad in 1998 during Operation Desert Fox , and an earlier 1996 bombing of Iraq by the U . S . during Operation Desert Strike . The war remained in effect until 2003 when U . S . and United Kingdom forces invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein ' s regime from power . Kashmir conflict . Pakistan ' s government has repeatedly claimed that India is violating the Simla Agreement by constructing a fence along the Line of Control in the Kashmir Conflict . However , India maintains the fence has decreased armed infiltration into Indian - administered Kashmir . Then - Pakistani President and ex - Army Chief of Staff Pervez Musharraf promised in 2002 to curb infiltration into the disputed territory . After the November 2003 ceasefire line agreement , building resumed and was completed in late 2004 . LoC fencing was completed in Kashmir Valley and Jammu region on 30 September 2004 . According to Indian military sources , the fence has reduced by 80 % the numbers of militants who routinely cross into the occupied territory of the disputed state to attack Indian soldiers . Israeli – Palestinian conflict . An example of a ceasefire in the Israeli – Palestinian conflict was announced between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority on February 8 , 2005 . When announced , chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat publicly defined the ceasefire as follows : " We have agreed that today President Mahmoud Abbas will declare a full cessation of violence against Israelis anywhere and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will declare a full cessation of violence and military activities against Palestinians anywhere . " Provisional IRA – British government . Throughout the period of The Troubles , the Provisional IRA and other paramilitary groups have called ceasefires . The most notable of these being the IRA ceasefire which was called on August 31 , 1994 , and ended on February 9 , 1996 , with the Docklands bombing . Another ceasefire was declared in July 1997 after negotiations were reopened . Spanish government – ETA . ETA has declared several ceasefires during its long running campaign against the Spanish state . A ceasefire declared in March 2006 , was broken on December 30 , 2006 , when a car bomb exploded in Madrid killing two people . On 5 September 2010 ETA declared a ceasefire .