Cease-fire now.

Who are we? I’m talking about the “human race.” What do we stand for? How is it that we go about our daily lives when the world is engulfed in violence, poverty and pain? Some 40,000 deaths in Gaza. That’s broken down into 17,000 Hamas terrorists and 23,000 civilians, which includes 16,500 children. They can’t understand what is happening. They only know that they are in horrific pain and dying and no one is making it stop. They can’t get proper medical attention because most of the hospitals have been destroyed and supplies are nonexistent. Neither the U.N., the World Court nor the U.S. can make it stop. Hell, the U.S. is supplying the bombs and bullets. Israel’s Defense Force says it is taking every precaution to avoid civilian deaths.

It’s impossible to drop a 2,000-pound bomb anywhere in Gaza without killing innocent people. When does a country’s right to defend itself cross the line and become revenge or worse – genocide? Who can we go to for an answer? We can’t go to Taufiq, Karem or Ahmed, the three children of Saher Aslei, because they’re dead. Her two daughters are dead.

At the Democratic National Convention, John Polin and Rachel Goldberg talked about their son Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a hostage. They spoke of the pain and suffering on both sides of the conflict, noting that it’s not a political issue, it’s a humanitarian issue. Today, they mourn the death of Hersh, one of six hostages killed by Hamas last week.

What say we cease fire and give peace a chance?

Thomas F. Deignan Sr.
Scarborough