After almost 15 months of a conflict and negotiation gridlock, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally announced a Gaza ceasefire deal on January 19th, 2025, after obtaining a list of all hostages in Hamas captivity after the attacks of October 7th, 2023. The incremental release of adult and child hostages, both dead and alive, began on the week of February 17th (AP News). Israel is also set to release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners over the coming weeks. Along with the release of hostages and prisoners, the six-week ceasefire plan will also include a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the region as well as the return of displaced Palestinians to the region. The deal also includes hundreds of lorries – large military trucks – being allowed into Gaza each day, which contain supplies for aid and recovery. Ultimately, the end goal for Gaza is for its complete and total reconstruction (BBC). Not only could that take years, but different actors on the world stage have vastly contrasting ideas as to what that could mean.
On January 17, 2025, three days before President Trump’s inauguration, PM Netanyahu announced that he looked favorably upon President Trump’s proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza in favor of purported US-led “restoration.” Claiming that this proposal was “the only viable plan to enable a different future” for the region (AP News), this collaboration is the newest development stemming from the American government in the ongoing, historic struggle in this territory. The Trump Administration seemingly has big plans for Gaza, which largely amount to a hostile takeover and yet another iteration of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homes, in order to redevelop the strip under United States control. Several Arab leaders – including those from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates – have spoken out against this proposal and are set to discuss it as one of the many objectives of a post-war conference on March 4, 2025.
It seems that this ongoing conflict is yet another hallmark example of how Western world leaders always seem to be at the ready to sink their teeth into whichever country – in what has long been known as the “Global South” – seems to be in the spotlight at the time for their own personal benefit. It is a geopolitical pattern that can be traced back to the early stages of Western imperialism and colonialism, most notably to the “Scramble for Africa,” which was the large-scale conquest and colonization of a vast majority of the African continent by several Western European powers between the early 19th and mid 20th centuries (BBC). Whether for natural resources, the accumulation of land, or the possession of human beings, the Scramble for Africa and all other initiatives for colonialism perpetrated against the developing world that preceded or followed all have one principal purpose: power.
All eyes, indeed, are on Gaza – not just those of the general public on both local and international levels but also those in power in the Western world who may want to take a slice out of the Gaza pie (or the whole pie altogether) for their own ambitions. The Gaza Strip contains two Marine fields that are estimated to contain more than 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gases, much of which is used to power Palestinian territories (Middle East Strategic Perspective). What better utilization of lands clearly rich with natural resources than to essentially create an American metropolis across the Mediterranean Sea, despite the evident priorities of Middle Eastern leaders concerning the safety, stability, and restoration of their citizens across the board? The fact that the literal and figurative ghosts of trauma continually linger, stemming from families’ anxiety and grief over their lost loved ones and the ongoing destruction of their homeland? Never mind that – it would not be the first time that Western countries have heavily disregarded such substantial history and its continued effects in the present day for their own personal gain.
On a personal note, writing about this…conflict (or war? or genocide? Ultimately, it depends on who you ask) proves to be a lofty task for writers and journalists everywhere, from the student newspaper level to that of world-renowned news sources that have become synonymous with journalism as we know it. The seemingly limitless perspectives about which interpretation is “right” or “wrong,” as well as the unfortunate polarization and exploitation of this conflict in the Western political sphere, only seem to add fuel to the fire. We have an obligation as both reporters and consumers to provide and consume, respectively, the most accurate, truthful recounting and portrayal of current events to gain a holistic understanding of the world around us. How, then, can we possibly do this in the most sensitive light when this ongoing event has touched not only those within the Gaza Strip but quite literally everyone else? That is a (largely rhetorical) question that I still cannot seem to answer.
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