HELPLESSNESS ON GAZA HANGS LIKE THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES

THE situation in Israel seems almost surreal, akin to a plot line from a dystopian novel.

- DR THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN

"The war will end. The leaders will shake hands. The old woman will keep waiting for her martyred son. That girl will wait for her beloved husband. And those children will wait for their hero father. I don't know who sold our homeland, but I saw who paid the price."

-Mahmoud Darwish

How could it be that a group of government officials would give a directive for Gaza's hospitals to be vacated, especially when they are tending to the needs of hundreds of injured? T It's as if the entire human race is being tested once again. When I browse the internet on Israel-Palestine, I'm flooded with countless articles discussing the historical complexities of the conflict, its root causes, the ongoing military operations in Gaza, the origins of Hamas, and the grandiose statements made by presidents, prime ministers and international organisations. As I reflect on these elected leaders, all I see are men-men driven by ego, men who appear naive, and men who sometimes seem oblivious.

But amid all of this, my thoughts turn to that grieving mother who has just lost her child or grandchild, the newlywed who has been suddenly separated from their spouse, the 5-yearold who craves not just food but the comforting touch of a loved one, the father who desperately searches for his missing daughter, and the Palestinian student studying in the US with no way to reach home. It's in these moments that I find myself deeply saddened by the fact that, for some, it's all about power and politics.