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So, which time period do we find ourselves? A US president, following an extended period of quiet support, has at last become involved to stop an offensive by Israeli forces that has turned swaths of a Middle Eastern city to debris, resulting in thousands killed and generating global outrage.

The offensive has followed a series of assaults on the Israeli nation. Presently, responding to pressure from American leadership, the Israeli prime minister, a rightwinger with a talent for popular speech and a deep conviction of historic Zionist mission, has consented to a ceasefire.

Past Echoes

The time period is not present day, but the early 1980s. The urban center is not the Gaza Strip, but Beirut. The American president is President Reagan, not Donald Trump.

We find numerous variations between what happened in the Lebanese nation over four years past and recent developments in Gaza in the last 24 months. The militant assault of recent times, which caused over a thousand and included two hundred fifty seized, differs significantly with the somewhat modest efforts of the PLO in the period before military entry of Lebanon.

Remarkable Resemblances

Certain parallels are striking. The US leader eventually contacted the counterpart, stating to him that events in Beirut was "a disaster" and indicating the relationship between their countries could be significantly impaired if the conflict continued.

During that period, similar to current times, the war developed in live on televisions worldwide. Many correspondents traveled to Beirut to report on for the premier occasion an Arab–Israeli war without media restrictions by any party.

Subsequent Developments

What happened after the call from Reagan and the ceasefire in Lebanon is revealing. The liberation movement, its divisions and representatives were scattered across multiple countries and a various states.

Washington then removed international forces – a breach of the arrangement with Arafat. Bashir Gemayel, the country's newly elected head of state and Israel's preferred proxy, was assassinated by Syrian security services.

Regional Transformation

Comparable developments occurred across the rest of the region. By the end of the 1970s, the predominantly worldly and modern approaches that had looked to deliver the promise of a changed reality in the Middle Eastern nations previously were weakened.

The consequences of this became very clear, almost immediately

Across the region, the Israeli state and the United States now faced adversaries who were much more unyielding, lethal and capable than the progressive groups and independence advocates of previous times.

Western Response

Among Western nations, the outcomes of this were unexpected. Throughout the 1970s, western analysts and officials had sought to understand what led to militant radicalism.

Then, in the beginning of that decade, this stopped. National figures in the US, the Britain and elsewhere were lost interest in "root causes" of violence.

Current Similarities

Last week, reports indicate that present administration communicated to the nation's leadership that Israel could not confront global opinion and admitted Palestinian aspirations for a state.

This also was an echo of historical precedent. In the consequence of the armed entry of Lebanon, earlier administration told the nation that the capability of its defense establishment alone could not "bring just and lasting peace" and accepted "proper claims of the Palestinian population."

However a American-sponsored regional peace plan supposed to resolve those grievances failed to progress. Overseas, national representatives looked on powerlessly.

Worldwide concern in the region decreased. The nation resisted any concessions. Later, there was the initial uprising, and the creation of further armed organizations.

• The cycles of previous events offer serious lessons for contemporary diplomatic initiatives
• Enduring agreements require addressing fundamental problems rather than temporary ceasefires
• Regional dynamics continue to evolve in complex and frequently surprising ways