The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah offers much needed respite in a region scarred by relentless violence. It is the first positive development after more than a year of devastating conflict that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands in both Lebanon and Gaza. However, there is an equally urgent need for a truce between Israel and Palestinians. Over 44,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023, and there is no let up in daily killings. Israel and its western backers trace the ongoing conflict to Hamas’s onslaught inside Israel that killed 1139 Israel. While that onslaught too was the result of the longstanding Israeli occupation and oppression, the powerful jewish state has since exacted a grotesque revenge disproportionate to what Hamas did. In fact, Israel is on course to exterminate Palestinians and take over their land.
That said, the cessation of hostilities with Hezbollah is a welcome relief, but it can’t be merely a pause in a long history of cyclical violence. The need is for a permanent and inclusive resolution to the conflicts that plague the Middle East. But this is not what is going on. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated plans to intensify war against Hamas in Gaza and address the perceived threat from Iran. This is a cynical way to deal with the fraught regional situation. There is hardly anything left to fight in Gaza, most of which has been leveled. The civilians there are now sitting ducks. Hamas by Israel’s own admission has been drastically degraded. As for Iran, war with it will hardly remain limited but could potentially destabilize the region. Attacks on oil refineries would steeply push up oil prices and cripple the global economy.
If the Israeli provocations continue, the region could very well be heading towards a big conflagration whose outcome would be catastrophic not just for the region but the world too. This is why, world needs to act and put an end to this madness. So far, the major western powers have just been making occasional right noises, calling on Israel to halt its operations but actually funding and arming it to lay waste to the region. The Middle East has endured decades of conflict, with each war leaving deeper scars on its people and landscapes. The current ceasefire is a step in the right direction, but it cannot be the end goal. All sides must commit to a vision of peace that prioritizes human dignity and regional stability over territorial ambitions and ideological divides.
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