The Israel-Hamas brought forth cruelty and suffering for ordinary people from its outset Oct. 7. The initial attack and murder of over 1,000 civilians and kidnapping of hundreds more is almost overshadowed by the death and privation of tens of thousands of civilians, many of them children.
Within this grim cloud of hateful atrocities are the details that leave a ghoulish stain on the humanity of all involved–made particularly poignant by their macabre absurdity.
Amid the daily accounting of failed negotiations, withheld military aid, starvation, homelessness and death are items like this listed among the updates and tallies: the remains of about 30 kidnapped people who have died since the Oct. 7 attack are being kept and are part of the negotiation discussions between Israel and Hamas.
For some reason, my mind froze and I thought about that carefully. The Gaza Strip has been bombed with 2,000-pound bombs to the point where it has been described as a moonscape. Famine conditions have set in. There is no electricity, and certainly no refrigeration in much of the territory. In these conditions where the necessities for human existence are scarce or non-existent, where the weather is getting warmer in one of the world’s hot regions as summer simmers in–30 bodies are being held as prizes in a negotiation that promises to progress slowly.
Think about that. Visually. Logistically. Where are the bodies being kept? What condition are they in? Who is tasked with watching them? Who’s keeping track of their identities?
This is a gruesome spectacle all the way around. It cuts past the politics, past the anger. It shows just how deep the roots of hatred in these communities penetrates.