Where Is The Hope Amidst Shared Grief?

'Trapped, in pain, afraid... and alone'

- Giles Sheldrick and Hanna Geissler

IN a brutal conflict that has claimed thousands of lives, the only thing they have in common is wretched grief.

The death toll continues to mount in battered Gaza with hundreds of children among the dead and the traumatised, including these three terrified, injured boys. In Israel, a British mother was laid to rest with her two daughters, killed by Hamas in the October 7 massacres along with more than 1,400 other Jews and foreign nationals.

The harrowing scenes are typical of too many from a Middle East war triggered by the Islamic fanatics' murderous rampage. Death, injury and hopelessness have taken over a troubled region once more.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, of the Israel Defence Forces, said his "heart weeps" for civilians in Gaza but insisted the situation "cannot remain as it was".

He called it a "tragedy on both sides of the fence", adding: "I hope the people of Gaza will have the peace they deserve, just as the people of Israel deserve."

There is little immediate hope of a brighter future in this shattered land as Israel continues to prepare for its ground offensive into Gaza.

The Palestinian territory is run by Hamas and it is where the terrorists are holding more than 200 hostages snatched in their raids.

Twelve British nationals have been killed and a further five remain missing, feared to have been kidnapped.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last night that his forces are set to move in and the timing would "be reached by consensus". He added: "We have already killed thousands of terrorists and this is only the beginning."

Terrorised

Israel has reportedly agreed to a delay so the US can rush missile defences to the tinderbox region. It is in a bid to prevent war from spreading to neighbouring nations.