The dust settled in the war-torn metropolis—guns fell silent, and civilians gathered in solidarity to recover. However, it is a short-lived peace. At the break of dawn, airstrikes resumed, rockets were relaunched, and the cries of innocent civilians wailed in harmony with explosions. December 1 marked the resumption of hostilities for the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, after a short ceasefire to exchange captives and deliver humanitarian aid. In time for the holiday season, the Gaza Strip is once again being battered by the minute.
Spilling over into the festive period, air and rocket strikes have intensified over densely populated locales, with Israeli ground offensives marching deeper into Palestinian territory. In between the Israel Defense Force and Hamas militants are regular Gazans simply trying to get by. As piles of rubble from Gazan homes and bodies of Palestinian dead mount up to the thousands, it can only be assessed that civilians have become a primary target in this war, despite Israel’s contrary claims. In time for a supposed season of giving, people are now isolated in conflict and terror with only slim chances of survival.
However, the Middle East is not the only hotspot for current conflicts of global concern. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ongoing for over two years, has reached a state of deadlock. Reeling from renewed fighting earlier in the summer, unsuccessful counterattacks and the winter cold have brought about continuous stalemates. Engagements are still active as ever, yet it is hardly a mobile war; missile strikes and skirmishes have revolved around the same regions for weeks. Ukrainians residing from Luhansk to Kherson, the frontlines, experience hostilities that will seemingly persist through December as both sides fail to reconcile.
Beginning earlier in April this year, the ongoing internal conflict in Sudan has left it in a protracted state of grueling irregular conflict. Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, rival factions in the country’s military, have dragged the rest of the civilian population in their fight for power. As they battle it out around Khartoum and Darfur, the conflict has posed a great humanitarian crisis for the Sudanese, who are living in the face of famine and disease outbreaks. Scattered engagements throughout the enclaves claimed by either side are random without the potential to de-escalate, even by this month.
Casualties have reached over the 12,000 mark in each of these conflicts, and beyond the military, it’s the non-combatants—civilian workers, families, and even children—that are suffering the most. It is clear that these wars will not cease any time soon, and it is of utmost irony that a supposed period of peacetime and merrymaking is defined by death and destruction. People in conflict-ridden regions will be celebrating the holidays amid gunfire and bombings, rather than with friends and family. Do those fighting know of the sufferings of the people around them? Don't they have any empathy to agree for at least a moment of peace?
Mankind, however, once had a chance to look eye to eye in a time of celebrating Christmas in conflict. During the first Yuletide of 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War One, Allied British and French forces and their German counterparts decided to stop fighting and celebrate the occasion with open arms. Following weeks of brutal trench warfare that stagnated the war into a deadlock, this unrelated yet circumstantial string of ceasefires—immortalized today as the Christmas Truce—was a show of regaining lost generosity and humanity.
Singing carols of similar tunes but different languages, the opposing forces climbed out of their trenches, laid down their weapons, and met eye-to-eye with no intention of killing one another. Once enemies, the Allies and the Germans saw who they truly were behind their uniform: human beings. Much to the anger of their commanding officers, soldiers found solace and relief in this stop of fighting, mingling with their counterparts. Setting aside their differences for a brief moment of compassion, the opposing sides performed dialogue, exchanged rations, buried their dead together, and even played football on no man’s land.
At present, as weeks turn to months and conflicts segue into the next year, we must never forget that peace is still attainable. If our ancestors were able to set aside their differences and come to a truce, why can’t we do the same? If history’s example shows that mankind can come to its senses and stop the bloodshed to recognize that they’re in a nearly universal period of generosity, why can’t we follow it? Lest we forget, there always remains a beckoning hope for peace—at least during this time—in acknowledging that the goodness of man is always present. It is in times like these that we cannot afford to lose hope or to despair, as we must unite in solidarity and action to help those suffering.
Withal, this peace must not only be assured for just the holiday season. Reconciliation between opposing forces shouldn’t be a temporary measure; it is not merely for this annual occasion, but for all time. Human kindness prevails over conflict, and that has to be recognized now in light of thousands displaced in current wars. Hostiles globally must set aside their differences for these regular people and their everyday lives to flourish. The opponents of war indeed can come eye to eye if only they wish for it, for a beacon of hope lies within their actions. And in doing so, the good-spirited nature of humanity will triumph.
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