I hoped that I wouldn’t need to write a column about this. I wished, more than anything, that the worst of the situation in occupied Palestine was behind us, and that I could just stick to writing about the rising far-right in the United States. However, considering Israel broke the ceasefire on Tuesday, March 18 while the world slept, I feel my moral obligation is to bring as much attention as possible to the launch of the continued, brutal bombing campaign.

In January, I wrote one of my first articles for the Lanthorn on my thoughts regarding the ceasefire in Gaza. While I still stressed the importance of continued activism in all arenas against Israeli apartheid, I was thankful that the horrific, inexcusable violence against Palestinians in Gaza would be coming to an end. Clearly, I had far too much faith in the powers that be to stop the genocide. True to form, the Israeli Defense Force, which I will henceforth be referring to as the Israeli Occupational Force (IOF), mainly attacked residential buildings used as shelters, as well as makeshift schools– once again leaving many mothers and fathers in Gaza forced to search through the rubble for their dead children. 400 lives were extinguished in a matter of minutes, and the situation’s horror set in for the Palestinian people, who have been plunged back into the depths of hell they had momentarily escaped from.

It should be made perfectly clear that President Donald Trump gave his tacit approval of the genocide’s reescalation. Just like his predecessor, Trump gave the IOF an open check to daily inflict despicable crimes against humanity. Among his many enthusiastic statements of support to Israel was his suggestion that Palestinians in Gaza be “relocated” to surrounding countries. To be completely clear, this is an example of ethnic cleansing, otherwise known as genocide. It should not be surprising that Trump, who has mainly accumulated his wealth on the back of the empire built by his racist, landlord father, advocated what is essentially large-scale gentrification in the Gaza Strip.

The situation in occupied Palestine is only getting more dire by the second, as the IOF has already launched a ground campaign into northern Gaza– a campaign likely to kill thousands more. This invasion has been coupled with a truly dystopian video of the Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who warned that the IOF is ready to attack “with a force beyond anything you have ever seen.” Considering what we have borne witness to over the past year and a half, I shudder to think of what his statement entails. 

Despite the hopes of all who advocated for and celebrated the ceasefire several months ago, the genocide in Gaza has reverted back to its horrifying form from before the ceasefire, with unmitigated acts of cruelty sure to be perpetuated on a regular basis. The main difference this time around, however, is the viciousness of dissent being crushed in the United States. Take, for example, the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate who had been legally obtaining his education in America on a green card. At Columbia, Khalil played a large role in the university’s student encampment last spring. Without warning, federal immigration agents showed up and detained him. Trump soon proudly took to social media to announce his plans to deport Khalil, despite his having a green card. Weeks later, Khalil is still being held with zero charges.

Now, just as when the ceasefire was first announced, our priorities must remain firm. Despite pathetic, authoritarian attempts to silence us, we must continue to speak out for Palestine in all forms available to us. We must continue to boycott all companies that do business with the criminal Israeli government. We must continue to pressure our local governments and schools to divest from this genocide. We must keep the lives of Palestinians in our hearts, as they stare down the barrel of horror once again. Free Palestine!