People spend hours in line for some bread, braving the hellfire of Israel’s warplanes. Flour has run out in the south. Everything has changed, and life has reverted to a state of bare existence.

There were indications this week that evidence of Israeli genocide in Gaza is breaking in on the American mind, including the historic pro-Palestine demonstration in D.C. — and can things ever be the same?

Hundreds of thousands protested in the Washington D.C. and around the world, calling for a ceasefire. Israel continues to target civilian infrastructure, using the “equivalent of two nuclear bombs,” says rights group.

An estimated 300,000 demonstrators shut down the streets of D.C. in the largest Palestine protest in United States history, calling for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza.

Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo wants us to “hug each other” instead of protesting the Columbia administration’s disregard for Palestinian life. But what kind of hugs can I give a starving family? How do I give a hug in times of genocide?

I have never waited for proof of life before. But now I wake every morning waiting to find out if your mother in Gaza has survived the night. She is hiding from bombs made here and funded by my government. My care for you has become a political act. 

Israel targeted an ambulance convoy at al-Shifa hospital, while other schools and hospitals were targeted as Israel doubles down on lifesaving civilian infrastructure. Meanwhile, Palestinian workers from Gaza return, recounting torture.

The masks have fallen, and millions of us are realizing how much you dehumanize us. We will remain prisoners of our hate, and you will remain prisoners of your crimes, and none of us will be free until Palestine is free.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says “all options on the table” in terms of military escalation in southern Lebanon; meanwhile, the U.S. makes a weak and much-belated call for humanitarian “pauses” as death toll in Gaza surpasses 9,200.

Israel had convinced the U.S. that Palestine as an issue was no longer an obstacle to normalization. But October 7 shattered Israel’s image of military might, raising doubts about its abilities to protect U.S. strategic interests.