Sunday will represent three months since the latest conflict began on the Gaza Strip in the Middle East.

Ever since Hamas launched a surprise invasion of Israel on 7 October, the conflict has descended into what is the most significant military escalation in the region since the Yom Kippur War exactly 50 years prior.

After clearing Hamas militants from its territory, the Israeli military embarked on an extensive aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip followed by a large-scale ground invasion.

The war has since become the deadliest in the region:  Gaza health officials say that over 22,000 people, many of whom civilians, have been killed owing to Israeli bombardments, while another 7,000 are missing and 36,000 have been wounded.

On the other side of the fence, Israeli authorities have said that almost 900 civilians, including 36 children, have been killed – including 771 alone during the 7 October massacre when Hamas invaded south Israel, kickstarting the newly escalated conflict.

The conflict was the latest in an ever growing list of conflicts which has shattered one of the longest running periods of peace time in recorded history.  Wars now rage in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen and Ethiopia amongst others.

There is no sign that this latest war between Israel and Hamas will die down any time soon. On a visit to soldiers stationed in Gaza, the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said the government was planning for a long war.

“The feeling that we will stop soon is incorrect. Without a clear victory, we will not be able to live in the Middle East,” he said.

While calls for a ceasefire have been ignored by both Israel and its staunch allies the United States, even US officials have started to become increasingly critical of the toll that Israeli’s military operation is having.

Some countries continue to support Israel, some countries continue to support Palestinians, but the safety of civilians on both sides seems to come secondary when compared to the political ambitions at play in the conflict.

One augurs that efforts for a ceasefire, and for a longer-lasting peace, intensify and come to fruition as the longer this goes on, the more civilians are going to suffer.  Hundreds more will continue to be subject to aerial attacks, and to have to live in fear of their homes being blasted from underneath them.

While Hamas’ actions are just as unjustified, what we are seeing today is a relentless bombardment by Israel akin to collective punishment of all of the people confined to live in the Gaza Strip – irrelevant of whether they are civilians or not.

The question is: what will the end result be?

Israel’s Netanyahu says he aims to wipe Hamas out – but this seems to have translated into levelling Gaza and turning it into rubble.  Just this alone defies any notion that there may be a long-lasting peace in the land.  A whole generation of Palestinians have seen their loved ones killed and their homes turned into dust.  What good is that going to do for the prospects of peace?

So it’s three months on from the start of this latest war, but there truly is no end in sight.