he nightmare continues. One year on from the horror of the 7 October massacre and the inhumane seizure of hostages, more than 40,000 lives have been destroyed after relentless bombing, war continues to spread to the wider Middle East and a ceasefire seems as far away as ever. And, yet, amid the rubble and the shattered dreams of peace, we must still look for signs of hope.
A detailed plan for a two-state solution lies gathering dust. Moving it forward will require a globally coordinated effort not just in word but in deed. Most immediately, we need to step up our efforts for a ceasefire and intensify the pressure for the release of hostages. And while today hearts are broken, our promise that we will do everything in our power to support reconstruction must be unbreakable. We may feel akin to watchers on the shore, but we must also think ahead to a time when the guns fall silent, and so we should not delay to plan for and prepare the unprecedented support required for those who have known nothing but suffering, but for whom nothing better is on offer: Gaza’s 1 million children.
Led by the G20, which comprises all the major economies, the international community should announce that it will fund a unique programme of education, health, childcare and essential mental health support for these children who have been born into conflict, and are now, amid the ruins of their destroyed homes, living on the edge of subsistence. Schools are often the first to be shut down and usually the last to reopen after a crisis. And not only that: in every previous reconstruction programme, the one priority that has been neglected is support for early years.
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