Precious little light has penetrated the suffocating darkness of death, fear and doom that has blanketed Gaza since Israel launched its response to the deplorable October 7 attacks.
But glimmers of hope began to emerge last night, with Hamas saying it would accept a ceasefire deal put forward by mediators from Qatar and Egypt.
This positive response appeared to take not only Israel by surprise but also the United States.
Central to the success of the deal is whether the language of “sustained quiet”, which has been accepted by Hamas as an alternative to “permanent ceasefire”, will also be acceptable to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet.
As well as securing the release of the hostages, Mr Netanyahu’s merciless campaign has had the aim of destroying Hamas entirely.
Despite months of bombarding Gaza and brutalising its innocent population, Israel is no closer to achieving that goal, if it were even possible to achieve it by such crude means. Will Mr Netanyahu be able to admit that failure?
Everyone who wants peace – and sanity – to prevail should hope and pray that he does, and that Israel embraces the deal.
Hamas’s acceptance of a ceasefire came as Israel was poised to dramatically intensify its Gaza offensive after ordering tens of thousands of men, women and children sheltering in eastern Rafah to evacuate.
A sea of tortured humanity is on the move, attempting to flee to an expanded so-called humanitarian zone on the coast.
Their prospects are bleak, even if the ceasefire deal is fully accepted by both sides. These starving, ill and terrified families have been subjected to relentless air strikes and shelling, caught in a war which has already seen 35,000 Palestinians - mostly women and children - slain, with more than 70,000 injured and their towns ground into dust.
Unless Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire, nowhere is safe in Gaza. Even if the missiles and bullets stop, without water, sanitation, shelter, food and healthcare, the catastrophe’s death-grip will keep tightening
Israel’s campaign has created what the head of the World Food Programme has described as a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza. Illness, hunger and a constant fear of being killed by the next Israeli missile or bullet stalk the refugees cowering under makeshift tents.
But unless Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire, nowhere is safe in Gaza. Even if the missiles and bullets stop, without water, sanitation, shelter, food and healthcare, the catastrophe’s death-grip will keep tightening.
In this part of the world, we know all too well that peace comes dropping slow. Yet come it must. If Israel and Hamas do indeed agree to end hostilities, it is vital that every effort is made to build a lasting and secure peace.
It would be better if that could happen quickly; but a peace that drops slowly is better than no peace, and the blackness of war and death and terror.
