This is not an Eid to celebrate in Gaza. The tragedy of the Israeli barrage of airstrikes has continued mercilessly despite all the talk of a ceasefire to allow the residents of Gaza to collect their dead from the rubble. What actually happened on the first day of Eid was that Israeli airstrikes hit the Shifa Hospital and a nearby park, killing 10, eight of them children. These casualties join more than 1,100 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians and many of whom were women and children, who have been killed by Israeli action over the past three weeks. Many more are in hospital with terrible injuries and there are tens of thousands of families, friends and neighbours who are mourning their dead and caring for their injured.

The ceasefires have come and gone, with little sense that any substantive talks are under way. It is a dialogue of the deaf, as Hamas seeks an end to the blockade that has made normal life in Gaza impossible, as the Israelis continue with their underlying strategy of keeping the 1.8 million residents of Gaza penned up in their ghetto with just enough food getting in to keep them alive but not enough of anything else to allow the city to start a normal economy in which the people of Gaza can seek normal, human aspirations of a secure home and employment. Both US President Barack Obama and the UN Security Council have urged an immediate ceasefire to allow relief to reach Gaza’s 1.8 million residents and that can be followed by more substantive talks on a more durable cessation of hostilities. But little progress is happening on the ground as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to stall to get the time for his troops to destroy the tunnels they can find and because he fears that Hamas will use the talks to seek an end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza.

It is long past time for a complete ceasefire and an end to the continuing murder and mayhem in Gaza. The Israelis should stop their bombardment of the city and in a calmer atmosphere, both sides should be able to find terms for a permanent truce.