WHILE Donald Trump has claimed that his Gaza plan has brought “peace in the Middle East”, and many Muslim leaders — including Pakistan’s rulers — have congratulated the American president on his ‘feat’, the reality in the occupied territory is much darker. As Amnesty International head Agnes Callamard has noted, it is a “dangerous illusion” to assume normalcy is returning to Gaza. “The world must not be fooled. Israel’s genocide is not over,” she warned. But it is not only occupied Palestine where Israel is violating supposed ceasefires. Bombings and assassinations continue in Lebanon, while early on Friday, the Zionist state attacked a Syrian town near Damascus. With such displays of provocative behaviour, and Tel Aviv trying to reignite unrest in the region, only the most naïve would believe that peace had been established in the Middle East.

The bitter truth is that far from peace, Israel is again trying to set the region alight — following the playbook it has used for decades, since the Nakba in fact. As Amnesty notes, Israel continues to deny Gaza’s people lifesaving aid, while other sources say that since the ceasefire came into effect on Oct 10, Tel Aviv has murdered over 350 Gazans; over 100 of its victims are children. Therefore, Amnesty is absolutely correct: the Zionist state has not stopped the genocide, it has just slowed the pace. Meanwhile in Lebanon, Israel struck several targets on Thursday, while assassinating a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut a few days earlier. UN monitors say Tel Aviv has violated last year’s ceasefire 10,000 times; over 300 Lebanese have been murdered by Israel since November 2024. Israel has threatened Lebanon with a fresh war if Hezbollah does not give up its weapons by the end of this year. Over in Syria, the Zionist state attacked the town of Beit Jinn on Friday. Locals resisted the attack, causing at least 13 fatalities, including children. The Syrian government has termed the Israeli assault a “war crime”. This pattern of impunity illustrates that Israel is accountable to no one, and respects no commitments. Therefore, Mr Trump, and the Arab and Muslim leaders who have endorsed his ‘peace plan’, may wish to check their enthusiasm and review the actual situation. Indeed, let no one be fooled: until Israel is held accountable for its crimes, and is penalised for murdering innocents, peace is impossible.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2025