Daily Times

The nightmares are back to haunt the heavily beseiged strip bordering the Mediterranean Sea as the temporary cease-fire has expired. As reports swirl through the news media about the suspension of the much-needed aid flow down the Rafah crossing and Israeli airstrikes claim at least 178 lives, undulating waves of anger and fear, punctuated by sadness have become a norm.

People long for the hum-drum of their routine, which came to a sudden standstill in the wake of relentless bombardment since October 7. Gaza has already been declared the “most dangerous place in the world to be a child.” Meanwhile, journalistic bodies continue to send distress calls over indiscriminate violence killing as many as 61 reporters since the start of the war.

Ideally, heart-wrenching visuals of children frantically searching for their parents and disconsolate men and women counting the limbs of their loved ones in a sea of dead bodies should have been enough for the international community to push for lasting peace. But to their great misfortune, the otherness of their skin colour and Middle Eastern domiciles automatically renders their suffering an easily avoidable cause for many Western nations.

Unmoved by the worldwide protest demonstrations for the Palestinian cause, European countries have now begun banning rallies in an extremely flagrant attack on freedom of speech. Shifting from one foot to the other, Muslim countries have yet to come up with a concerted approach towards the onslaught on Gazans.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s emphasis on a permanent ceasefire prompted Israel’s Foreign Minister to quip about how he was welcome to host them in his country. Although Qatar still believes in the art of diplomacy with renewed efforts to bring both sides to the deliberation table, the Muslim world would have to read the writing on the wall much, much sooner than they are ready for.

Netanyahu administration is not here for compromises or utopian, picturesque ideals of peace. They wish to push millions of Palestinians out of a country they claim is solely theirs without giving a hoot about where they’ll go and how on god’s green earth can someone just pack up their lives and leave. *