The heart-wrenching pictures of the amusement park in Khan Younis capture a devastating
contrast, where vibrant echoes of children’s laughter are replaced by screams of horror, a grim depiction of how Israeli bombardment has left Palestine, particularly Gaza, in ruins.
Two years of mayhem might end with both Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire deal pressured and brokered by President Trump, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey on their respective clients and surrogates. There are jubilations in war-torn Gaza streets, whatever is left of them, and in Israel, especially in the families and friends of the remaining 20-odd hapless hostages who have suffered extreme violence and human indignities for over two years.
India has overtaken China as the largest buyer of Russian oil. This is not because the Chinese are running scared of American wrath over their Russian commerce. China is increasingly moving to electricity for transport, with more than half of all new car sales being of electric vehicles and high-speed trains that run on electricity offering viable alternatives to air travel on quite a few routes, and will increasingly buy smaller quantities of oil. China has stepped up its purchases of piped natural gas from Russia.
The bombing of Iran represents the return of old-style imperialism, making the point that might is right with the biggest bang possible without exploding an atomic bomb. Which cat got the tongue of India, leader of the Global South, when the US bombed Iran? Why did the tongue of India, leader of the BRICS, turn mute, when the world called on Israel, at the UN, to end its genocide in Gaza? Cat, Cat burning bright, in the forests of Mt Zion and Washington DC, why this appetite for India’s respect among nations?
President Donald Trump, currently the most powerful leader, whose unpredictability yet opposition to wars has acted as an implicit deterrence to the warring parties across the spectrum, has added a new angle to the whole Gaza imbroglio in his transactional style. Trump has sought to displace the two million embattled Gazans to other countries, pushing Jordan and Egypt to take the hit—both of which have peace treaties with Israel and are suffering economic hardships even though they are significantly dependent on the US for financial support and bailouts
India should offer financial grants, the supply of building materials, and engineering and construction talent, and Indian firms should set up subsidiaries in the region
'Touch and Go’ has really defined the efforts by the US, Qatar, and Egypt to bring about some kind of ceasefire and cessation of hostilities and some hope for besieged and beleaguered Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, and above all for the hapless Israeli hostages waiting to be released for the last 15 months in the Israel-Hamas war that started with Hamas’ terror attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7.