2026 SO FAR

An apology, and a refresher.

By Jake

6 February 2026

I owe you an apology, reader. We have pledged to keep you updated, and not to let the conflict in Israel and Gaza fade into the background like other current conflicts. I should have done better. As I pursued the daily grind, sudden roadblocks, and blissful days off, people were suffering in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and elsewhere. I cannot help them physically. The organizations that have tried to help starving Palestinians have had their credentials revoked on short notice. All I can do, and the main reason I return to this blog today, is to keep myself and others informed, so that when I am finally in a position to make a real change, I can do so.

2026 has been a post-ceasefire period for those in Gaza. Doctors work in hospitals, children go to school, rebuilding efforts continue, yet people still die violently. A February 14th strike by Israel killed eleven people of the same family, including two infants, a 5-month-old and a 10-day-old. Mutual accusations between the Palestinian militias and IDF of breaking the ceasefire seem to reoccur every few days, yet the mediators act as if everything is normal. Trump’s Board of Peace may replace the UN efforts and be less compromised by membership of Hamas-sympathetic individuals, but can it survive its initial tests?

Hamas forces under Rafah have shown no sign they will voluntarily disarm as agreed, and one major attack in which an American is killed could be enough to scrap the peace process and renew full hostilities. It is unjust that some lives are worth more than others in terms of global attention. Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel remain a concern, with thousands displaced and long-term damage done. The IDF has reportedly been using herbicides to damage Lebanese agriculture, and to such a high degree that there could be health and environmental damage for years. 

From the children returning to school after missing years, to the babies born malnourished, to the untreated injuries, the people of Palestine will not heal anytime soon. And if the mediators aren’t deliberate, the orphans of this war could organize bloody revenge in the coming decades, making more innocents die. It makes me feel better that there are people, whose names we do not know, working to mediate and bring aid to a suffering people. May I, and the people supporting ONE by reading these words, do better in our ways to support them.

Want to have conversations like these? Consider joining our community discord server to join in the discussion.

Do you have feedback for this piece? Please leave a like and a comment to help support this website so more can access it.