Author: Monica R Sastra Deemed University
ABSTRACT
In the history of the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the most recent Israel-Hamas battle will be remembered alongside the Oslo Accords of 1993, the wars of 1948, 1967, and 1973, as well as the intifadas of the 1980s and 2000s. All of these events were pivotal moments that still influence the war, but the events at the end of 2023—the terrorist attacks by Hamas, Israel’s response in Gaza, regional responses and flashpoints, and the choices made by key players—will undoubtedly be the main turning point for the following ten or more years. The coming years will undoubtedly mark a turning point in the history of the war and maybe the Middle East as a whole.
INTRODUCTION
The bloodiest attack on Israelis in history occurred in October 2023 when the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas conducted a devastating surprise attack on southern Israel. An already poor condition in the Gaza Strip, where over two million Palestinians resided before the conflict, has gotten worse with Israel’s subsequent declaration of war with the goal of destroying Hamas. As the number of people killed in the conflict has increased, international attempts to negotiate a comprehensive humanitarian cease-fire have failed. Approximately 240 hostages were taken and 1,200 Israelis, 70 percent of whom were civilians, were slain by Hamas terrorists during the attack. Although Hamas released over 100 captives during a week-long cease-fire agreement in November, the Israeli military estimates that it currently has 136 persons in captivity, of whom 32 have died.
Life is miserable for civilians in Gaza. Thousands of people live in continual terror and are constantly moving from locations they have been assured are secure. People use whatever wood they can find and plastic bags to create tents. If they are lucky, they only eat one meal a day. More than a hundred children rushing in the direction of a food cart. Everywhere you look, children as young as four years old are lugging water in jerrycans and cutting wood to make fire. Children’s schools and universities have been destroyed, ruining their expectations for the future, and they haven’t attended school in months. Few clinics and hospitals, whether for trauma or a woman wishing to give birth, are operating because of the attacks on these facilities.
OBJECTIVE OF ISRAEL
Take down Hamas
“We will wipe this thing called Hamas — ‘ISIS-Gaza’ — off the face of the earth,” said the Israeli leadership in the opening weeks of the conflict, setting a high standard for success. “It will be eliminated,” Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, declared. As the early weeks of conflict carried on, first with a bombing campaign and then a ground invasion, whether Israel could cause Hamas to “cease to exist,” or even utterly destroy the group militarily, had come into question. Since assuming control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas has created strong institutional and military apparatuses. According to estimates, Hamas had between 30,000 and 40,000 militants at the start of the conflict, along with a large network of subterranean tunnels and bunkers where it could conduct urban warfare.
Bring the Hostages Back
The return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza is Israel’s second declared objective and, for the majority of Israelis, their top priority. In addition to murdering 1,200 Palestinians on October 7, Hamas captured about 230 Israelis and other foreigners in Gaza. In exchange for increased humanitarian supplies into Gaza and the release of 240 Palestinians detained by Israel, Hamas freed 108 captives between November 21 and December 1. The Netanyahu administration would probably have to pay a heavy price for the release of the other Israeli hostages: an Israeli departure and the continuation of Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip.Both Egypt and Qatar have attempted to negotiate a settlement to end the conflict in 2024, but the parties appear to be completely different.
EFFECTS OF WAR
According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Israel’s military actions in reaction to Hamas’s offensive have caused “colossal human suffering” in January. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is operated by Hamas, Israel’s reprisal has killed 27,748 individuals and injured over 66,800 more as of February. Along with more than 150 UN employees—the most relief workers murdered in any crisis in UN history—more than 120 journalists and media professionals have also been killed. Israel continues to impose a total embargo on Gaza, cutting off water and power and leaving food and medication supplies in short supply. According to a December assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, an effort made up of independent worldwide specialists in nutrition and food security, over 90% of Gaza’s population is considered to be experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity. Meanwhile, Gaza’s sole power plant has gone out of commission due to a lack of fuel. Access to clean drinking water has been further jeopardized by the closure of desalination and wastewater treatment facilities due to a lack of energy.
Neighborhoods, schools, and mosques have been devastated by Israel’s aerial bombardment; according to UN analysis of satellite photos, almost 30% of Gaza’s total buildings have been destroyed or damaged. According to the Israeli military, Hamas positioned parts of its military tunnel system and command network beneath hospitals and other civilian facilities that Israeli attacks have targeted. Hospitals are severely short on rationed fuel supplies and medical equipment, and Gaza’s health system, which was said to have failed in November 2023, is still in ruins. Nasser Hospital, the biggest operational medical institution in southern Gaza, is currently unable to offer essential medical treatment since the two main hospitals in northern Gaza have long since over beyond their capacity. As health conditions quickly deteriorate, health authorities have also cautioned about the increasing potential of disease outbreaks.
Since the beginning of May 2024, a million Palestinians have been displaced up to six times and forced to leave Rafah. In Gaza, there are no secure places for Palestinians to go or places that can sufficiently provide for their fundamental necessities. Having previously been relocated several times, many have sought refuge in Rafah. For days, men, women, and children have passed horrifying images of devastation and death, occasionally losing family members in the process. People are sleeping outside or attempting to cover themselves with cardboard and wood scraps as they struggle to live in dignified conditions in homemade tents adjacent to sewage or waste sites.
Each resident in a displacement camp has a space of only one square meter. Infectious illnesses are spreading quickly, and vulnerable people are dying because many shelters lack enough ventilation and more than half are wet from rain and water.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS RESPONSE
EUROPEAN UNION
In addition to providing significant humanitarian help to the Palestinian people, the EU has mediated peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the EU has also criticized Israeli policies, including the building of the separation barrier and the Gaza Strip’s blockage.
The Rafah Crossing Point’s European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM Rafah)
At the crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, a Third-Party Presence is provided by the European Union Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah), a civilian mission.It supports the development of contemporary border management systems and infrastructure, mentors and advises Palestinian border personnel on border management, and facilitates and coordinates the efforts of various Palestinian border agencies and their international counterparts.
The operation of EUBAM Rafah is essential for enhancing border control at the crossing point, creating income, promoting commerce, and enhancing the flow of people and products. Examples of EUBAM Rafah’s efforts include enhancing collaboration between the Palestinian Authority and Egyptian authorities, creating a new border management system, and offering training on risk analysis methodologies.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
In order to support the health systems’ continued operation, WHO is collaborating with partners to address the most pressing health needs. We coordinate outside medical assistance, distribute life-saving supplies, and keep an eye out for and react to disease outbreaks.
WHO calls on all stakeholders to safeguard health and guarantee their people’ secure access to medical care. In the end, WHO urges peace.
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FEDERATION
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) is an NGO that protects all human rights, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Since the 1980s, FIDH has operated in Palestine, concentrating on reporting and documentation.
On the abuses of human rights in the Palestinian Territories, it carries out thorough research and promotes human rights by interacting with the media, lobbying governments, and testifying before international agencies. FIDH hosts events and outreach initiatives in addition to educating the public on human rights via its publications, website, and social media accounts. It offers training, capacity building, and financial support to human rights advocates in Palestine. In order to hold individuals accountable for violations of human rights and to advance justice and accountability for the Palestinian people, FIDH’s work is essential.
PALESTINE CHILDREN RELIEF FUND
Over a million children are at risk in Gaza as a result of the current situation, and teams from the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund are there, working nonstop to deliver critical supplies. With more than 30 years of steadfast commitment and experience, PCRF is the main humanitarian organization in Palestine, providing humanitarian aid and vital, life-saving medical treatment where it is most needed. There is a serious lack of access to basic resources including clean water, food, and healthcare. To avoid a more serious humanitarian disaster, immediate action is required.
GLOBAL SUPPORT
UNITED STATES
In order to help Palestinian citizens in Gaza, the West Bank, and the surrounding area, the United States had donated an extra $404 million in life-saving humanitarian relief, increasing the total amount of aid it has given to over $674 million in the last months. With the help of this additional financing, disadvantaged Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and the surrounding area will get critical assistance, such as food, clean drinking water, medical attention, safety, education, housing, and psychiatric support.
EGYPT
Through the Rafah border crossing, Egypt has given the Palestinians substantial humanitarian supplies during the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza in 2023. Additionally, Egypt let some injured Palestinians to receive medical treatment in Egypt on November 1, 2023. Israel has proposed that Egypt take in more displaced Palestinians during these events, but Egypt has refused to take on the responsibility of a mass migration from Palestine in order to make room for millions more Palestinians. Instead, the Egyptian leadership had recommended that Israel host Palestinian refugees in the Negev.
INDIA
India is still supporting the Palestinian people. 30 tons of medical goods, including vital life-saving and anti-cancer medications, are shipped to Palestine as part of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people through UNRWA last week.
JORDAN
Jordan has been providing relief to the Palestinians in Gaza by airdropping supplies and sending convoys westward overland since the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist organization that has been in control of the region since October 2023.
According to the army, it has so far ordered almost 400 of these missions using its air force and allies. Nearly seven tons of food and other vital aid were delivered to the U.N. agencies’ designated most-needy locations by two Jordanian air force C-130 aircraft.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a highly organized attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, infiltrating cities, striking military posts, and murdering and kidnapping citizens and soldiers. In response, Israel launched a deadly military assault in the Gaza Strip that has killed over 41,000 people, including more than half of women and children.
CONCLUSION
The increasing number of deaths are not the positive sign and world nations should urge the nations to stop the war and bring peace in the territory. The need of the hour is cease fire, which enables the helping nations and organisations to help the people in need and evacuate to a safe place.
SOURCES
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396
