Can there be a Thanksgiving in the Middle East?

It’s Thanksgiving in America, and as many families are gathered around the dinner table exchanging news amidst forkfuls of turkey and green beans, and other side dishes, and anticipating a slice, or even two, of pie, but tensions, as well as apprehensions are high in the Middle East as a pause in the Israel and Hamas war, where after the carnage of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7th in Israel, and the subsequent shootings of Palestinians in the Gaza strip, families are anxiously awaiting new of hostage releases, and prisoner exchanges, hoping to share a meal, of sorts, but most importantly the sight of a loved one.

This war has brought horrors on both sides of the divide and in America the war of words for and against Israel, amidst the death tolls of Palestinians living in the Gaza strip have created a series of horrors, both of mind and body, where the unimaginable has taken hold of hearts and minds, forcing many people to exclaim, to shout, to cry, to weep, and to to social media to explain their sheer frustration and anger, from rich to poor, from celebrities to the average citizen, we are all awash in dimensions of misery.

As sides are taken the images, and the news, has forced Israel, to a have a 4 day pause in the fire, brokered by Qatar, and pushed by the United States government, in the face of growing disillusionment, by some, for their support of Israel, as well as the last reported figure of 11,708 Palestiansn killed, but the figure may be far higher, since communication disruptions have hampered data collection. 1,200 Isrealis have died and that gulf between the numbers has created a grieving space that can never be filled.

The images of Egyptian doctors waiting to receive premature infants from Al Shifa hospital, and the pictures of keening women weeping into their hijabs has taken, and torn, much of the world, as are the worried and care worn faces of Israeli’s waiting for news of their family and friends taken hostages.

With a ratio of 3 to 10 hostages, released in the prisoner exchange, can this establish any sense of trust, or even an end solution for the end of hostilities, or lead to a future between the warring parties? These are some of the questions that are being asked, as the world holds its breath.

Women and children are being given priority for the hostages, and teenagered boys, mostly, for the Palestenians, imprisoned for a variety of aggressions, minor, some say, for throwing rocks.

Against this background the Israel Defense has taken the Al Shifa hospital to search for what they believe are the remains of the Hamas headquarters that they have said was why the hospital was attacked, as doctors tried to deliver babies and perform surgeries by the light of their smartphones, since Israel had cut off power, and generators were low, and what little power remained, had to be rationed.

For many, after the fighting has resumed, the question remains, unanswered for the moment, is what will happen next?. Can a two state solution be brokered, or when the fighting continues, is there a void never to be filled?

Can there be a space where politics can create a solution, many are wondering, and the UN HIgh Commissioner for Human RIghts Volker Turk has said, “There has been a breakdown of the most basic requirements for human values,”’ and “the killing of  so many civilians cannot be dismissed as collateral damage,” and that the result, unchecked, “is likely to be extremes and further extremes.”