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So, what year do we find ourselves? An American leader, following an extended period of quiet support, has at last become involved to end an offensive by Israeli forces that has transformed swaths of a city in the Middle East to rubble, resulting in thousands dead and sparking international condemnation.

This military action has been preceded by a series of strikes on the Israeli nation. Currently, facing demands from American leadership, the Israel's leader, a rightwinger with a gift for appealing language and a deep conviction of historical Jewish national duty, has consented to a ceasefire.

Past Echoes

The year is not the current year, but four decades ago. The location is not present-day Gaza, but Beirut, Lebanon. The president is Ronald Reagan, not today's leadership.

There are many differences between the situation in the Lebanese nation more than four decades ago and recent developments in Gaza in the last 24 months. The October attack of recent times, which killed over a thousand and saw 250 captured, differs significantly with the comparatively limited actions of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the time preceding military entry of Lebanon.

Striking Parallels

Some are uncanny. Reagan finally made the call the counterpart, stating to him that the situation in the city was "a holocaust" and indicating the relations between their nations could be seriously harmed if the conflict carried on.

At that time, comparable to present circumstances, the war unfolded in live on televisions worldwide. Many correspondents flew into the capital to document for the first time an Arab–Israeli war without information control by either side.

Aftermath and Consequences

The events after the conversation from Reagan and the ceasefire in the city is educational. The liberation movement, its divisions and representatives were dispersed across multiple countries and a various states.

The US administration then pulled out multinational troops – a breach of the understanding with PLO leadership. The elected leader, the nation's newly elected leader and Israel's chosen ally, was murdered by Syrian security services.

Area-wide Shifts

The same was true across the wider Middle East. By the conclusion of that decade, the increasingly non-religious and modern approaches that had appeared to provide the promise of a new future in the regional countries years before were discredited.

The consequences of this emerged rapidly, almost immediately

Throughout the area, the Israeli state and the United States now faced enemies who were much more intractable, lethal and capable than the progressive groups and nationalists of earlier years.

Global Approach

Internationally, the consequences of this were perverse. During the seventies, global observers and officials had tried to analyze what generated armed fundamentalism.

Subsequently, in the early 1980s, this ceased. Political leaders in the US, the Britain and other nations were lost interest in "root causes" of conflict.

Current Similarities

In recent days, reports indicate that current leadership told the nation's leadership that Israel could not oppose international consensus and acknowledged Palestinian aspirations for a independent nation.

This also was an echo of historical precedent. In the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of the neighboring country, past government told the nation that the capability of its military alone could not "establish permanent resolution" and accepted "justified demands of the Arab residents."

But a internationally-backed comprehensive agreement supposed to answer those concerns went nowhere. Overseas, national representatives observed helplessly.

International interest in the Middle East decreased. The state opposed compromises. Subsequently, there was the initial uprising, and the establishment of new resistance movements.

• The patterns of history offer thought-provoking insights for current peace efforts
• Enduring agreements require confronting underlying issues rather than temporary ceasefires
• Area politics continue to develop in complicated and often unpredictable ways