“Even Wars have Rules.” ICRC
“From the Gaza Strip the cries of mothers and fathers rise to the heavens as they hold the lifeless bodies of their children”. Pope Leo XIV
When Hamas and other militant groups carried out the 7th of October 2023 terrorist attacks, the question was: What is going to be the scale of the Israeli response? To what extent and magnitude would be the sheer force of their military might against Hamas, the other militant groups and invariably, against the civilian population, considering the fact that on a land that is 41km long and 6 to12 km wide, lies 2.2 million people, with Hamas infrastructure deeply embedded in civilian sites: schools, hospitals, homes, etc.
The attacks were the most horrific on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Israel underestimated Hamas threats. An extraordinary security and intelligence failure.
Surrounded largely by enemies that have sworn its annihilation… Hezbollah in Lebanon to its north, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas and other militant groups to the South, the recently ousted Assad regime in Syria, all funded and propped up by Iran, which does not recognise the right of Israel to exist and has repeatedly called for its destruction.
Its existence as a Nation has been brazenly threatened by the attacks. And act, they must, for its defence, security and preservation. But how? And what impact on the civilian population of Gaza, majority of whom are young people?.
The Might of the Israeli Military, the Israeli Defence Force(IDF)in the execution of the war has been in full force. Massive. Devastating.
“A huge demolition site”.
The bombings and strikes of the past 20 months have been brutal. Gaza is in utter ruins. It has become a mass of entangled corrugated iron and Steel.
This humanitarian catastrophe defies logic.
92% of homes and about 70% of all structures has been destroyed according to the medical charity, Médecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).
It could take at least 15 years to clear Gaza’s rubble,says the United Nations as per Aljazeera.
Vast majority of the people do not have where to go. No home to call theirs. Nowhere is spared. Homes. Schools, hospitals, all bearing the brunt of the IDF’s pursuit of Hamas who frankly, do not care about the people. The distressing images, the horrendous plight of the people laid out for the world to see plays well into Hamas narrative : Portrays Israel as the aggressor.
Critical infrastructure such as water and electricity are virtually non- existent while most hospitals no longer function. Overwhelmed doctors and other health workers, risking their lives, working under gun fire and heavy bombardment with hospitals under evacuation notices again and again. Israel says such sites harbour Hamas terrorists.
As in most conflicts, women and children are the major victims of the war. About 65% of victims in this war are women and children, according to UNICEF and other humanitarian organisations.
An 11 week total blockade of Gaza saw partial easing on 11th of May with some aid let in, which the United Nations Chief, Antonio Guterres described as “a teaspoon of aid”.
“Levels of hell”
A worker with Doctors without Borders told Sky News last week “Everything is just worst. Every hope has been crushed. There must be levels of hell.. and we are on the last”
Harrowing images of parents carrying their dead children, some not knowing where their loved ones are, under the rubble. I read of a Palestinian doctor that lost nine of his ten children in an Israeli strike on their home on the 23rd of May. The doctor and his only surviving son were critically injured. Sadly, the doctor died days later. Jarring.
Distressing images of badly injured children. Chronically malnourished childern. Hollow eyes. Shrivelled skin, gaunt gait, emaciated and skinny frame are just too upsetting to watch. Kids whose childhood has been destroyed.
Gaza has been described as the “hungriest place on earth” by the United Nations Humanitarian Coordination Office. (OCHA). Starvation is real.
According to UNICEF, it’s “the only territory in the world where the entire population is at critical risk of famine…. This is a distraction of childhood, destruction of life itself”.
Its war operations and the attendant humanitarian catastrophe is causing Israel to lose much of the international goodwill it had when the terrorists first struck. Even in Israel, opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prosecution of the war is growing. As per the American Jewish Commitee (AJC), many Israelis claim Netanyahu resumed the war in Gaza, following the end of the initial phase of the January 2025 agreement between Israel and Hamas, to restore right-wing support for his government, which many Israelis see as an obstacle to the return of the remaining hostages. Meanwhile, some IDF reservists criticize the government’s Gaza strategy as poorly managed and ineffective, saying the lack of clear objectives and prolonged conflict are undermining public trust, the AJC added.
Likewise, the former prime minister from 2006 to 2008 Ehud Olmert, writing in an opinion piece for the Israeli newspaper and website Haaretz stated that “the government of Israel is currently waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning and with no chances of success”
“What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians. It’s the result of government policy”
Yair Golan, a former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli army and Head of the Democrats party called the latest escalation “entirely unnecessary”.
Urgent action
Let me be clear, I am unequivocally for the right of Israel to its existence, security and defence : Defending itself and protecting its people from terrorist organisations and rogue States that avowedly seek to wipe it from the face of the earth.
In the same breath, our moral conscience must be pricked at the appalling conditions of the civilian population of Gaza.
An immediate and sustained lasting ceasefire that will see the immediate unconditional release of all hostages, both living and deceased is urgently needed.
The removal of all barriers to the entry of Supplies, and an unhindered surge of much needed humanitarian Aid.
While mechanisms are worked out for constructive talks and negotiations on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Strip with Hamas having no role in the future governance of Gaza.
I’ll close with an interview granted the BBC by the Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) some days ago. .
In the words of the ICRC Chief, the situation in Gaza has become worse than hell… “We cannot continue to watch what is happening. It’s surpassing any acceptable, legal, moral, and humane standard. The level of destruction, the level of suffering…More importantly, the fact that we are watching a people entirely stripped of its human dignity, it should really shock our collective conscience.”
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