Israel makes no bones about its intention of flattening Gaza and massacring its civilians
It’s becoming clearer by the day that the war declared by Israel on Gaza is meant to be against the civilians rather than Hamas. The number of bombs dropped on the people so far is proof of its intention of wiping off Palestinians from Gaza. All these attacks are in the name of defeating Hamas and are actually all about removing any sort of resistance to Israel’s occupation. It is a continuation of Israel’s policy of confiscating land without care for the people. Thus, it is yet another attempt to make Israel, ‘a Jews only’ state. This war is nothing, but a continuation of the same policy practised by the Israelis against the Palestinians for decades. Targeting civilians is a crime against humanity, yet it has been a core part of Israel's actions. In fact, during the first Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948, thousands of Palestinians were killed, countless villages were burned, and women were raped and tortured. The survivors brought with them the horror stories that they had to endure at the hands of Israeli militants. They were spared on purpose to instil fear among other Palestinians to desist from defying the dictates of Israel. A large Palestinian population was expelled and lives as refugees in neighbouring countries.The people of Gaza are a mix of refugees, who fled from other parts of Palestine, who have survived the onslaught of the Armed Jews Group and who have been living under deprived conditions with the natives for the last 56 years. Gaza’s residents have been living in an ‘open prison’ since 1967 even though Israel has claimed to have withdrawn from the Gaza Strip in 2007. In fact, the entirety of Gaza is besieged from land, air, and sea by Israeli occupational forces to this present day. Making no bones about his intentions, the National security minister of Israel, Itamar Ben Gvir, stated: “The only thing that needs to enter Gaza are hundreds of tonnes of explosives from the Air Force, not an ounce of humanitarian aid.”The rocket attack on the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City killing hundreds of Palestinians is a case in point. Israel is clearly moving ahead with its plan to vacate Gaza by instilling fear among the residents who are already at their wit's end; deprived of food, water, electricity and medical aid they have nowhere to go, just waiting for the inevitable.Thus, we are witnessing a genocide unfolding in real time. This policy will fail and it will not make Israel safer nor bring peace to the region but the Palestinians would have to pay a heavy price for no fault of theirs. The highest number of fatalities in this massacre have been women and children. You do not have to watch the news and stare at the television to see dead bodies scattered all over the place. Hospitals, colleges, schools, markets, convoys, nothing is safe from the bombs that are being dropped, in fact, it is as clear as day, to see that they are purposefully being targeted. The latest weaponry is being used and tested on Palestinians and will be ready for sale; the massacre of Palestinians would be proof of the quality and help Israel’s arms industry.
As Guru Nanak Ji once said, “We are all human before we belong to any religion,” You do not need to be a Muslim to condemn and call for an end to this carnage. Let us be brave and human enough to condemn this massacre and trampling of human rights. Though the US has now shown some sensitivity towards the people of Gaza and brokered a deal with Israel and Egypt to deliver medical aid along with other necessary supplies, it is too little too late. Nevertheless, the US has done the right thing and the world must follow. The world community should come forward and condemn Israel in one voice else we would be witnessing the biggest crime against humanity.
(The writer is a South Asia-based senior foreign journalist and an expert on West Asia; views expressed are personal))