Gaza woke up in the early hours of Tuesday to bombs and missiles landing among its communities, once again, as Israeli planes killed more than 400 people — almost half of them children — within a few hours. A fragile ceasefire that had been announced in the dying days of the Joe Biden administration had been shattered by the government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The bombs and missiles have continued over the past days, underscoring Israel’s intent to return to full-fledged war after using the brief pause to rest its forces and replenish its weaponry. Israel’s troops have taken fresh control of large parts of the Netzarim Corridor that splits Gaza into two, in effect controlling movement across the enclave. This restart of the war spells renewed devastation and despair for the already battered and bloodied people of Gaza. But it will also hurt Israeli hopes of getting back dozens of hostages still believed to be in Gaza. The breakdown of the ceasefire also represents a firm blow to Donald Trump’s claims that he would be able to forge peace in Gaza as president of the United States of America.
Mr Netanyahu chose to break the ceasefire at a time when mediators from Qatar and Egypt were trying to convince Israel and Hamas to extend it. The renewed war has sparked fresh protests in Israel amid fears that the hostages in Gaza might now never return alive. But Mr Netanyahu’s military assault has won him the support of the far-Right whose alliance he relies on to stay in power. Itamar Ben-Gvir, a former minister who has proudly called for the illegal annexation of the West Bank, is back in Mr Netanyahu’s government after having quit in disagreement over the ceasefire. At a time when legal proceedings against Mr Netanyahu over corruption allegations are heating up, Israel’s prime minister has ensured that a new chapter has begun in the war that has helped him stay in office. Yet, even as death and destruction resume in Gaza, the people of Palestine refuse to go anywhere even if Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump may dream of displacing — ethnically cleansing — them from Gaza and the West Bank. Unlike in the aftermath of October 7, the rest of the world has no excuse for ambivalence. Israel’s war needs global condemnation unequivocally.