Stage one of the peace deal signed by Israel and Hamas militants is something to celebrate. It gives hope to the innocents and victims on both sides, is expected to put an end to the barbaric bombing of Gaza and should usher in an increased number of convoys carrying desperately needed food, water, medicines and other humanitarian aid.
As much as we all welcome this deal and a close to the awful hostilities — which have killed about 2000 Israeli civilians and soldiers, and close to 68,000 Palestinians, including a documented 18,457 children in Gaza — the big question is whether peace in the Middle East is any more likely long-term because of it.
Aerial footage of Gaza reveals total destruction as far as the eye can see, right up to the sea. Collapsed buildings look like grey broken teeth and skeletons, tracks between them are a lighter, dusty grey.
Gaza is now the same colour as the surface of the Moon. Israel has blown it off the face of the Earth, literally.
The scars of the family members of those slain and kidnapped by Hamas in the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, and the fear of those in Gaza who have seen so many loved ones slaughtered mercilessly, are not going to go away.
It’s a certainty that the blitzkrieg meted out by the Israel Defence Forces, callously spurred on by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and collaborators, has only served to catalyse a whole new generation of Hamas fighters.
Made an international pariah over the famine it has caused in Gaza and the genocide it is accused by many of carrying out, Israel only had one friend left, in the shape of President Donald Trump’s United States.
In some ways it is probably better that Netanyahu’s Israel did have a friend. As unpalatable as that scenario seems, it is always wise to be aware of how a totally cornered rat may behave.
Can it be that Mr Trump, of all people, has pulled off what most others thought nigh-on impossible? Representing the heft of the US, he was perhaps the only one in a position to rein in Mr Netanyahu from considering committing even worse atrocities, even if the accolade of winning a Nobel Peace Prize turns out to be his primary motivation.
At the same time, about 2000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons will be freed, including 250 jailed for serious security crimes. Israel has pledged it will retreat in Gaza, though by how much and when remains opaque.
The most difficult part of Mr Trump’s 20-point deal comes after these objectives have been achieved. Hamas has already rejected the idea that it disarm completely, and how Gaza will be governed in the future remains unlikely to be resolved quickly or easily.
In the meantime, though, we need to recognise the significance of what has happened and the lives it will save.
But we must never forget the crimes of Mr Netanyahu and the importance of seeking justice for the innocents caught up in his carnage.
Time ticking away
You've only got a few hours left to have your say in this year’s local body elections. If you haven’t yet voted, do it now.
The ballot closes at midday. It’s a pretty simple task to open your voting pack, choose your favoured candidates and return the papers.
Big orange voting receptacles around the city are just waiting for your envelope. Or if you are out and about, election officials will collect them from your car if you are driving through the Octagon this morning.
Everyone eligible needs to do something to turn around the dreadful level of voter turnout this time, with a cumulative return of just 26.16% by the end of Thursday compared with 39.14% in 2022.
Preliminary results of how candidates have fared should filter through this afternoon.
