The announcement by Hamas that it would accept a new truce plan with the Israeli entity has once again sparked hopes that a permanent ceasefire might put an end to the indescribable horror taking place in Gaza right now.
The current plan has been brokered by mediators Egypt and Qatar with backing from the United States. It is pertinent to note that this would not be the first ceasefire in the current conflict which began in October 2022 and has since escalated to what is by all definitions a genocide. Hamas’ acceptance of the current truce plan also comes after it was made clear that the plan would not involve any sort of exodus or resettlement of the Palestinian people — a strategy that the US and Israel have been pushing hard. In recent times, Prime Minister Netanyahu has brought up plans to completely annex Gaza and has mentioned the Greater Israel project.
The situation in Gaza reached boiling point a long time ago. International inaction over the brutal occupation and systematic starvation of Gaza has been painful to watch, but Western leaders in particular have been under increasing pressure from mass demonstrations in their respective countries against the horrors in Gaza. Mass protests in London and Melbourne have only been the tip of the iceberg.
The situation in Gaza is one that will require massive international collaboration and aid. The entire strip has been effectively raised to the ground, no infrastructure is left beyond the small cluster known as Gaza City, and the Gazans live under a prison economy. In the face of such a massive atrocity, it is imperative that a ceasefire only be the first step. Not only does the international community have to rally together to try and start righting the wrongs of what has happened to the Palestinian people, they must do so in a democratic and empathetic way.
International organizations have already said that the starvation in Gaza is at the stage where it will have permanent effects on the population. Entire extended families and surnames have been wiped out. Journalists have been targeted and killed in brutal ways. All of this has also given cover to the Israelis to continue building illegal settlements in the West Bank where the apartheid continues to grow stronger.
In the face of these challenges, world leaders need to step up and stop mincing their words. It is time to denounce Israel completely, to call for a democratic and fair Palestinian state. It is vital that Pakistan not just be a supporter to the Palestinian people, but be one of the loudest voices advocating for them. It is of the utmost importance if we are to retain any moral standing as a nation. The last thing we want is for the echoes of the horrors in Gaza to haunt us for eternity.
