The images of death and destruction from Gaza are horrifying. Every picture and video we see — especially those of innocent children being killed or maimed — shakes every caring person to the core.

We are not so naïve as to think there will never be a war somewhere in the world. But this latest conflict, one triggered by the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, has re-opened a window into the depths of mankind’s savagery.

As depressing as the situation has become in Gaza, we must not surrender hope that there is a path to ending the bloodshed and setting the stage for a lasting peace. A peace in which Palestinians and Israelis prosper and are free to go about their lives without worrying about the next missile strike.

After World War II, the United States led in rebuilding the world and exporting democracy to regions hungry for a better form of governance. We remain the world’s greatest superpower and therefore it is incumbent on us to broker peace in Gaza. Not a temporary truce, either. For peace to endure between the Israelis and Palestinians, a pact underpinned by American ideals is required.

This means independent self-rule and a country with real borders over which the Palestinian flag flies. This means an end to the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, eliminating travel restrictions and jettisoning trade bans.

The repressive policies that Israel long has imposed on Palestinians have radicalized their people, grown resentment, made Israelis less safe, and turned the region into a powder keg that could spark a world war.

From the French under Nazi rule to the Vietnamese under French rule to the Americans under British colonization, people do not want to live under another country’s flag.

The United States played a major role in Israel’s creation in 1948. Given the horrors of the Holocaust and the need for Jews to have a home country – a safe place for them to openly practice their faith without fear of reprisal and raise their families – Israel became the first democracy in the Middle East.

However, Israel’s birth came at the cost of expelling several hundred thousand Palestinians from their land and their property. Over the next 70 years, these uncompensated takings would result in death and destruction to Israelis and Palestinians and ongoing conflict.

Understand: This was a foreign policy that while nobly inspired was not fully contemplated or properly carried out.

We, as Americans, can no longer blindly support a nation that willingly kills tens of thousands of civilians – including those fleeing to so-called “safety zones” – while it also rightfully hunts down the leaders of Hamas in retribution for the Oct. 7 attack.

It’s past time for the United States to re-emerge as a beacon of light and hope for those needing someone to stick up for them.

President Joe Biden must insist that Israel abide by humane values in its relationships with its neighbors. Most of all, he and Congress must send the message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States will suspend its billions of dollars in aid if Israel doesn’t end the massacre of unarmed civilians.

As the killing continues, with our tax dollars, Biden also must ask this question: Is Israel truly interested in peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians, or is its intent to expel and exterminate them?

The horrifying images from Gaza, which has been declared “uninhabitable” by the United Nations, provide the answer.

America must demand that Israel abandon its quest to destroy Gaza and scatter millions of Palestinians to the wind while also demanding that Hezbollah and Iran stay out of this conflict.

We must do it for the Gazans, for the Israelis, and for the greater Middle East peace. If we don’t, the continued oppression and radicalization of Arabs will eventually inflict great pain on both us and Israel.