FOR once, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians—sparred from the devastation caused by the US-supplied Israeli tanks, drones, and automatic gunfire—are flocking back to what were once their habitable neighbourhoods.

Everything, literally, has been lost in almost 16 months of sheer annihilation, characterised by the death of more than 47 000 Palestinians, who include about 19 000 children, scores of journalists and media workers, paramedics and doctors alike, UN employees, et al; nothing and no one was spared.

The remnants of Gaza alone are enough to trigger a wave of personal and collective anxiety, endless fear for the possible resumption of the Israeli siege, wanton destruction, and the apparent international indifference, if not indignation.

Traumatised children and their relatives, all of whom have lost their loved ones during what South Africa and other nations describe as genocide, will remain mentally scarred for the rest of their lives.

The much-anticipated truce between Israel and Hamas, heavily sponsored by the double-standard US, continues to hold despite worrying murmurings from Tel Aviv of a swift return to hell.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, buoyed by the return of US President Donald Trump to the White House, knows too well that the new Washington administration is an equivalent of his license to do as he pleases not only in the occupied territories of Palestine but throughout the Middle East itself.

That notwithstanding, the people of Gaza are sighing with welcome relief, cognisant of the lingering threat that is the colonial thirst of the current Jewish Knesset.

South Africa has stood head and shoulder above the rest in defence and protection of the beleaguered Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, where hordes of men, women, and children remain trapped under the rubble of their destroyed towns and villages.

The initial pause in the bombardment, fuelled by the planned systematic return of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by the Hamas fighters during a rare military operation inside Israel on October 7, 2023, has been earmarked to last at least 42 days initially.

The UN, which has been undermined by powerful competing geopolitical interests, estimates that just last month alone, “69% of the buildings in Gaza, including some 245 000 homes, were damaged or destroyed” by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) actions. For many Palestinians, the memory of “home” is now only a live picture of heaps of rubble.

What is worrisome for most peace-loving nations around the world is that in spite of the ceasefire that took effect since January 19, the IDF continues to breach it under the pretext of what they describe as “emerging threats”.

I am shining the torch once again on the plight of the Palestinians and the people of Gaza in particular. They have gone through what many people would not wish even to their worst enemy.

Life has not only stopped for the Palestinians since October 7, it has literally been turned on its head for the longest time imaginable.

The IDF’s breaches of the ceasefire are as certain as daylight following the darkness of the night. Already, the IDF is wreaking havoc elsewhere in Palestine, this time in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

This week alone, dozens of people were killed as the IDF carried deadly raids on the Jenin refugee camp, triggering mass displacement of people killing with impunity as always.

As peace looms in Gaza, the bloodthirsty Netanyahu regime cannot stop. They have found an acceptable excuse—in their opinion—to start a new operation elsewhere so that Palestinians know no peace.

Through it all, the international community remains incapable of intervening. History will surely judge them harshly. With good reason, the Palestinians feel like the abandoned people, forgotten by civilisation. It is a great pity that when it comes to the issue of Palestine’s statehood and the two-state solution, the interests of the powerful supersede those of the weak and vulnerable majority world.

Palestine is a microcosm of the evil side of Western civilization. The US hegemony has too many fault lines, but the issue of Palestine has laid bare the dangers of the global centralisation of power.

As Trump continues to stretch the muscle of his administration, he would do well to demonstrate his sense of empathy to the world by “showing mercy” to the Palestinians, as one bishop implored him last week.

At any rate, Trump said during his inauguration speech that he would like to be remembered as a man of love and peace. Nothing provides him the greater opportunity to walk the talk than the question of Palestine. As Shakespeare once observed: “By their actions shall ye judge them.”

* Abbey Makoe is founder and editor-in-chief of the Global South Media Network.

** The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Independent Media or IOL.