Six killed. A journalist among them. Israeli air strikes hit Gaza again. The UK's response? A carefully worded plea for restraint. The script is tired. We have seen it before.
Government sources confirm the Foreign Office is 'deeply concerned'. But concern does not stop bombs. The Al Jazeera journalist, a familiar name in newsrooms, is dead. His colleagues will grieve. The lobby will whisper about diplomatic notes. The cycle continues.
Labour backbenchers are restless. Expect letters. Expect motions. The whips are working the phones. The Prime Minister wants this to go away. It will not. Not while the images from Gaza keep coming.
Whitehall is split. The Ministry of Defence sees strategic necessity. The FCDO sees reputational damage. The real power play? Who gets blamed when the ceasefire collapses again. No one wants that. Everyone expects it.
A source close to the Foreign Secretary tells me: 'We are pushing for a humanitarian pause. But leverage is limited.' Limited. That is the word. Limited influence. Limited will. Limited lives.
This is the game. Statement. Condolence. Call for restraint. Repeat. The journalists will write it. The MPs will tweet it. The bombs will fall anyway.
Inside the UK, the polling is grim for the government on foreign policy. Focus groups show voters are tired. Tired of the violence. Tired of the platitudes. The opposition smells blood. But they offer no alternative. Just louder demands.
For now, the machine grinds on. The Lobby briefings will be scrutinised. Every word parsed. But the dead do not care about spin. They are just numbers in a statement. Six. One journalist. Many more unnamed.
Westminster is a small world. Gaza feels distant. Yet the reverberations are felt in every corner of the chamber. The debate will rage. The actions will be minimal. That is the truth of it.