At 2:20am on Tuesday local time in the Gaza Strip, Washington inaugurated a new era in world politics. This was the moment Israel timed its attacks on dozens of targets in the enclave to coincide with suhoor, the predawn meal eaten by Muslims in preparation for a day of fasting.

The timing was designed to inflict maximum civilian casualties, as families across Gaza gathered to eat and pray during the holy month of Ramadan, even if they had little or no food to consume.

US President Donald Trump thus signalled a new era in global affairs by giving his consent for a wave of attacks that broke every aspect of the ceasefire deal, signed in the presence of international guarantors. In one act, Trump turned the West that his nation claims to lead into the Wild West.

From this moment on, no treaty, ceasefire or international agreement that the US signs is worth the paper it is printed on.