Recalling reasons for hope at the close of a year in which we have witnessed such devastation is challenging. Yet, like others before me, I know it’s surely necessary to look for ways of making hope possible and resisting despair. But it’s complicated, teasing apart moments of hope from feelings of desolation in violent times.
We all recall the barbaric violence of 7 October, when Hamas kidnapped hundreds of civilians and brutally massacred 1,200 people in southern Israel. This resulted in Israel’s immediate declaration of war on Hamas and unparalleled bombing ever since (with a few days’ pause). So far, there are up to 21,000 Palestinians dead, hundreds of thousands injured and 2 million displaced and destitute, more than half of them children.
