From the relative comfort and safety of Australia, it has become almost unbearable to watch the news from Israel and Palestine.

Hamas will not surrender, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on this opposition to a two-state solution, and so after a seven-day ceasefire and a hostage exchange, bombing and bloodshed resumed.

There has been much suffering in the Middle East in past decades.Credit: Photo: Kate Geraghty; Artwork: Marija Ercegovac

To watch the suffering of Israelis, with approximately 1200 killed and around 200 hostages captured on October 7, and the death toll from Gaza growing every day and already surpassing 25,000 lives, it’s easy to believe that peace........

© The Sydney Morning Herald