Israel’s war has reached a tipping point – and risks spinning out of control

The US has made it clear it no longer trusts Israel’s actions in Gaza, writes Nomi Bar-Yaacov. The only way to get humanitarian aid safely in is with an immediate ceasefire, and an end to the war

People gather around the ruins of a car used by US-based aid group World Central Kitchen that was hit by an Israeli strike (AFP/Getty)

The Israeli army’s killing of seven international aid workers from the World Central Kitchen serves as a terrible reminder that the Israel-Hamas war has gone on for far too long.

Now is the time to end it with a comprehensive ceasefire agreement, the release of all the hostages, a return of the displaced Gazan population to their towns and villages, and the opening of a land crossing to allow unhindered flow of humanitarian aid. Plans for the rehabilitation of Gaza coupled with a carefully mapped out plan for Palestinian statehood and Israeli normalisation with Arab states must follow suit.

The discontent with Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct, his prioritising of the outrageous demands of his extreme government – while sacrificing its relationship with its greatest ally, the US, and the wider world – has finally reached a point of no return.