The casualty and destruction statistics in the Israel-Hamas war are horrific

After nine days of remorseless military action by both Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the statistics of death and destruction are horrifying. Inevitably, while Israeli citizens have died and have been injured and communities have been terrified for their lives from the constant rocket fire, the most devastating impact has been in the overcrowded, poverty-stricken streets of the Gaza Strip. The daily destruction of buildings, images of crushed tower blocks and weeping families have underlined that even when a ceasefire is eventually won, Gaza will even more than before be uninhabitable, with damaged sewer and water systems, streets piled with fallen masonry, hospitals packed with wounded and frightened children. A landscape of destruction. How can a thin strip of land like Gaza survive under such a barrage of Israeli firepower? Will the people of Gaza now rue the day they voted Hamas into power or will they burn for revenge against their neighbours? Nine days of war and destruction can only lead to one thing for the people of Gaza, more hatred, more despair and more misery. There HAS to be a ceasefire soon but then what will the nine days of war have achieved? Israel will no doubt point to the military successes: more than 150 dead Hamas fighters and tunnels used by them destroyed by airstrikes. But will that bring peace? Will Hamas be defeated and give up? It seems not. According to the Israeli army, this militant organisation fired 3,350 rockets into Israel over a period of eight days which is more than during 50 days of war between Israel and Hamas in 2014. About 90 per cent of the rockets were targeted and brought down by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system. Right now there seem to be no moves from either side to call a halt to the military offensive. While Hamas continues to fire rockets, Israel will retaliate. Does any leader in the world have real influence on either side to stop this mayhem?