THE recent attacks by Iran, the second such episode in recent months, in my opinion, did not create much heat for Israel. As reported, there was no major damage caused to either military or civilian targets inside Israel.

In contrast, Israel is hitting its targets in Lebanon and Syria rather precisely to disable the support of Iran from its immediate neighbourhood in case the war escalates. Yemen is too far to threaten Israel’s security.

Moreover, Russia is already engaged in war with Ukraine, and China is busy trying to become a global economic giant. As for Pakistan, it is still trying to recover from its misadventure of being an Ame- rican proxy in Afghanistan.

If we look at the international support for the Gaza people, it is only confined to United Nations resolutions and some street agitation every now and then in parts of the world. Both of them have had little effect on Israel and its backers, es-pecially the United States.

Now, the only solution lies in sustained diplomacy, leading to direct talks between the warring parties. Do we have the cool heads needed to take such an initiative?

Malik ul Quddoos
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2024