Gaza Civilians Return To What Israel Calls A 'Ceasefire,' Not A 'Home'
Al-Monitor dutifully reports that 'thousands of displaced Palestinians returned to a devastated Gaza City' as a truce 'holds.' The picture painted is one of weary survivors discovering their previous lives, often finding 'destruction even as others were relieved to find their homes still standing.' This narrative conveniently glosses over the fundamental truth: these people were forcibly displaced
from their homes, many now rubble, by state-sponsored violence that Washington, and its media, largely frames as 'defense.' This 'truce' doesn't alter the illegal blockade on Gaza, which has persisted for 17 years, effectively turning the strip into an open-air prison long before the recent intensified bombardment. The notion of 'returning' to a 'devastated' city, under a 'truce' that could
dissolve at any moment, raises the question: when does 'self-defense' become an extermination plan, and how many times will the world watch people walk back into a cage, only to call it 'peace'?