Civilians, women, children, babies and their pets. No one was spared from Israel’s indiscriminate and murderous military machine. The full fury of a state which is afraid of no one was unleashed against the defenceless and impoverished citizens of the Gaza Strip in utter violation of the UN charter. As rockets continued to rain down on the Palestinian people reducing them, their children, their homes and their infrastructure to plumes of smoke and rubble, heart-wrenching pictures of maimed, burnt and dead babies went around the internet appealing even to the heartless. Some of the dead had no bodies as these were turned into pieces that spread hundreds of metres away.

Helpless parents could only cry after the slaughter of their families for, as Israel continued its battering and gnashing of lives and livelihoods, the international community seemed to be much more interested in the fate of Seleçäo than in the massacre and carnage in the besieged territory. And the misfortunes of the Palestinian civilians and children are not about to end any time soon as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defiantly declared that he will not stop until his goal has been attained. That goal being perhaps the extermination of the new generation of Palestinians.

As Israeli warplanes relentlessly attacked hundreds of homes in Gaza, Netanyahu told a parliamentary committee that a ceasefire is “not even on the agenda”. About 20,000 reservists have been mobilized and the question today is not whether the air strikes will stop but rather whether Israel will deploy ground forces. The Knesset, the media and the population in general have not only given their full support to the deadly offensive but have also been pouring oil onto the fire. Indeed, it seems the only criticism against the prime minister is that he is too soft on the Palestinians.

In the face of this collective punishment – a war crime by any defi nition – the Nobel Peace winner’s silence for days was deafening and the noble promises made in Cairo seem such a distant memory. Watching the military grandstanding, Barack Obama requested Israel ever so politely to show “maximum restraint”. The rogue state, once again, gets away with a slap on the wrist and the American president’s offer to mediate an end to the violence with Palestinians “including a return to the 2012 ceasefire”! Really? On which side of the Wall of Shame? For how long? What about the Oslo Accords which the Palestinians and Israel signed in 1993 and which the latter continues to flout with complete impunity?

The narrow cynicism of the international community towards life in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s national hysteria are dangerous, not only for Palestinians but for world peace. The oft-repeated truism about Israel’s “right to defend itself” is indisputable and the whole community should condemn Hamas’s clumsy missiles into Israel. Everyone should condemn suicide bombers. But, equally, everyone should condemn Israel’s persistent refusal to respect any international agreement or convention, which results in the vicious circle of deaths and more deaths. Peace begins with demolishing the Wall of Shame; peace begins with lifting the Israeli siege; peace begins with ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Above all, peace begins with giving those who have lost any hope in life a reason to live.

We are far from peace! After maiming and killing children and civilians in their sleep, Israel accuses Hamas of committing “a double war crime”. “It targets Israeli civilians, while hiding behind Palestinian civilians,” Netanyahu said. Who says might is not right?