Amid Gaza's decimation, words have lost all meaning

Glued to our screens, watching the horror unfold, it can feel like an act of self-preservation to put the phone down and think of something else, to spare our fragile hearts the weight of what we see and read. But those being bombed cannot switch off.

On TV, radio, and social media platforms, the same tired discussions and debates are being had—the same plotline with the same old talking heads. Occasionally, someone is able to cut through the propaganda to speak the truth, but those who spout their rehearsed talking points continue to turn a blind eye to it.

Reading the room

The predictable policy statements of governments, international organisations, and even the war's protagonists have lost their significance. They can say what they want. They can judge, criticise, accuse, exonerate, or hold responsible whoever they want. Worst nightmares are now a waking reality. What they say matters, not a jot. Their words are but babble and murmur amidst the tombstones.

Broadcasters sit safely in distant studios, filling the airwaves with analysis and predictions over the next air strike, wondering where it will hit, how large it will be, what form it will take, what impact it will have, and who it will kill. It is flotsam. As the cameras roll, streets crash and crumble live on air; existence is reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye as commentators search for the right words. They quickly find there are none.

What do words even matter at this point?  When blood flows this freely, when destruction is this vast, and when bodies and landscapes are torn apart so gruesomely, words no longer have meaning. 

The dead certainly don't care about what pundits will say of their murder. Families wiped off the civil registry do not seek clarification over who killed them. They know who did this. Everyone does.

The executioner has killed so many that it seems futile at this point to name him. His capacity to kill seems infinite. He is indifferent if Palestinians live or die. Indeed, this scale of brutality is only possible because of this indifference.

When massacres are met with such indifference, words lose their meaning, and silence is the only thing that seems fitting. In this terrifying world, no words, analysis, context, or script can ever offer a modicum of justice or comfort. So, put your tired debates and discussions away.