Editorial: Ceasefire over and Christmas cancelled as ‘hell returns to Gaza’

Health officials reported that 109 people were killed and dozens wounded in airstrikes that hit at least eight homes. “Hell on Earth has returned to Gaza,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office in Geneva.

As many as 80pc of Gaza’s 2.3 million have now been driven from their homes. Just hours before, US secretary of state Antony Blinken announced the Israeli government had agreed to form a “clear plan” for averting civilian deaths. This was imperative, he said. A premium had to be put on protecting civilians.

Lest there be any doubt, he added: “I underscored the imperative to the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement on the scale we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in the south.”

But war does not follow scripts.

Moral symmetry no longer applies once the fuse is lit or trigger pulled. Initially, the Biden administration offered Israel a “bear-hug”, wholly offering Tel Aviv unwavering support; but there has been something of a pivot, partially because of international opprobrium at the Palestinian death toll – which is expected to soon pass 15,000 – since the Hamas massacre of October 7.

More pertinent, perhaps, may be the political heat the Democrats are taking for not putting more pressure on Israel to ease off on the shock and awe approach, which has seen strikes on schools and hospitals and widescale destruction.

As the world’s remaining superpower, it is not enough for Washington to be a background voice of moderation. If it is supportive of the two-state solution – which is in Israel’s interests as much as Palestine’s – it must take on a proactive leadership role.

Israel has made it clear it is prepared for a long war. Judging by what we have seen so far, the potential loss of life and destabilising influence on the whole region of a protracted scorched earth approach could be cataclysmic.

Mohandas K Gandhi wrote in 1925: “I object to violence because, when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” His words are just as true today.

Talks overseen by the Qatari government to reinstate the ceasefire are continuing.

The case for restoration of the truce is overwhelming. Over the past week, vital aid was able to get through. Conditions in the besieged enclave are deteriorating disastrously. The population is “at risk of famine and starvation”, the World Food Programme warned this week.

Last week, it was decided across all Christian denominations that Christmas would be cancelled in Bethlehem this year.

It would be unconscionable should this really have to happen because the war was still raging.