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The Observer view on the Israel-Hamas war: stricken Gazans need a respite from the bombs The Observer view on the Israel-Hamas war: stricken Gazans need a respite from the bombs
(about 2 hours later)
A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding before our eyes in Gaza as Israeli forces expand ground operations and intensify their aerial bombardment. The Hamas terrorists who killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel on 7 October claim to be fighting back in northern Gaza after Israel targeted their underground tunnels. A communications blackout has cut off UN agencies and charities from contact with the outside world.A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding before our eyes in Gaza as Israeli forces expand ground operations and intensify their aerial bombardment. The Hamas terrorists who killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel on 7 October claim to be fighting back in northern Gaza after Israel targeted their underground tunnels. A communications blackout has cut off UN agencies and charities from contact with the outside world.
Israel’s blockade was already stopping most aid getting in. Now the 2.3 million population, already short of electricity, is effectively in the dark. Gaza’s inhabitants are descending into hell.Israel’s blockade was already stopping most aid getting in. Now the 2.3 million population, already short of electricity, is effectively in the dark. Gaza’s inhabitants are descending into hell.
These developments present the international community with a terrible dilemma, posing urgent questions it has so far failed to answer. Israel has the right to defend its people. What happened on 7 October was unimaginably evil. The desire to avenge those atrocities and prevent their repetition is understandable. Yet how are the Hamas killers to be captured or eliminated without causing the deaths of many more Palestinian civilians, of people who have no control or say over Hamas’s actions and whose lives, too, are precious? How may greater suffering and destruction be prevented without allowing the terrorists to evade retribution and justice?These developments present the international community with a terrible dilemma, posing urgent questions it has so far failed to answer. Israel has the right to defend its people. What happened on 7 October was unimaginably evil. The desire to avenge those atrocities and prevent their repetition is understandable. Yet how are the Hamas killers to be captured or eliminated without causing the deaths of many more Palestinian civilians, of people who have no control or say over Hamas’s actions and whose lives, too, are precious? How may greater suffering and destruction be prevented without allowing the terrorists to evade retribution and justice?
According to Hamas-run health ministry figures, which are disputed by Israel and the US, more than 7,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed so far. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged. About 1.4 million people are displaced. Entire families are camped on the streets or in overcrowded apartments, hospitals and schools. They spend their days cowering in fear. Their screams and cries for help have been clearly heard during the past three awful weeks. Whatever the exact casualty figures, no one can pretend not to know what is happening. Yet now, day by dreadful day, these people are becoming invisible, as if in a land of ghosts, stumbling through the rubble, unseen, unaided, abandoned.According to Hamas-run health ministry figures, which are disputed by Israel and the US, more than 7,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed so far. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged. About 1.4 million people are displaced. Entire families are camped on the streets or in overcrowded apartments, hospitals and schools. They spend their days cowering in fear. Their screams and cries for help have been clearly heard during the past three awful weeks. Whatever the exact casualty figures, no one can pretend not to know what is happening. Yet now, day by dreadful day, these people are becoming invisible, as if in a land of ghosts, stumbling through the rubble, unseen, unaided, abandoned.
“Services are crumbling. Medicine is running out. Food and water are running out. The streets of Gaza have started overflowing with sewage ... Gaza is on the brink of a massive health hazard,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees, warned. The flow of aid trucks at the Rafah crossing was a mere trickle – “crumbs that will not make a difference for the 2 million people in the street,” he said. “The current system is geared to fail. What is needed is meaningful, uninterrupted aid. And to succeed, we need a humanitarian ceasefire.”“Services are crumbling. Medicine is running out. Food and water are running out. The streets of Gaza have started overflowing with sewage ... Gaza is on the brink of a massive health hazard,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees, warned. The flow of aid trucks at the Rafah crossing was a mere trickle – “crumbs that will not make a difference for the 2 million people in the street,” he said. “The current system is geared to fail. What is needed is meaningful, uninterrupted aid. And to succeed, we need a humanitarian ceasefire.”
Such calls for a ceasefire, for a potentially less-effective “pause” or for an even vaguer “lull” in the fighting are increasing in urgency and volume. EU leaders demanded both “humanitarian pauses and corridors”. The US favours something similar, while Russia, China and many Arab countries want an immediate, lasting ceasefire. On Friday the UN general assembly voted, non-bindingly, for an “immediate, durable and sustainable humanitarian truce”. But there is no consensus about which option should be adopted, or even what such options actually mean in practice, as a deadlocked UN security council again demonstrated last week. Hamas is continuing to fire off rockets and use civilians as shields while trying to lure Israeli forces into lethal urban combat; Israel, meanwhile, has shown scant interest so far in taking up any of these suggestions.Such calls for a ceasefire, for a potentially less-effective “pause” or for an even vaguer “lull” in the fighting are increasing in urgency and volume. EU leaders demanded both “humanitarian pauses and corridors”. The US favours something similar, while Russia, China and many Arab countries want an immediate, lasting ceasefire. On Friday the UN general assembly voted, non-bindingly, for an “immediate, durable and sustainable humanitarian truce”. But there is no consensus about which option should be adopted, or even what such options actually mean in practice, as a deadlocked UN security council again demonstrated last week. Hamas is continuing to fire off rockets and use civilians as shields while trying to lure Israeli forces into lethal urban combat; Israel, meanwhile, has shown scant interest so far in taking up any of these suggestions.
There must be a better way. Yet what do we see? The world’s leading powers haggling over terminology and scoring political points while children die – reportedly about 3,000 so far. Those young Palestinians who survive this ordeal will grow up asking how it was their families and friends were killed, and what did the world do to stop it. When they grasp the bitter truth, the familiar descent into radicalisation and extremism may begin anew, guaranteeing more violence.There must be a better way. Yet what do we see? The world’s leading powers haggling over terminology and scoring political points while children die – reportedly about 3,000 so far. Those young Palestinians who survive this ordeal will grow up asking how it was their families and friends were killed, and what did the world do to stop it. When they grasp the bitter truth, the familiar descent into radicalisation and extremism may begin anew, guaranteeing more violence.
“World leaders have been incapable of producing anything that would end or even alleviate this haemorrhage of innocent lives,” Jan Egeland, a former senior UN official and head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a furious statement. “This is not a humanitarian response worthy of nations and leaders who claim to respect humanitarian principles and international law ... By failing to live up to their responsibilities to protect civilian life on all sides, leaders are not helping to break the vicious cycle that condemns future generations of Palestinians and Israelis to yet more conflict.”“World leaders have been incapable of producing anything that would end or even alleviate this haemorrhage of innocent lives,” Jan Egeland, a former senior UN official and head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a furious statement. “This is not a humanitarian response worthy of nations and leaders who claim to respect humanitarian principles and international law ... By failing to live up to their responsibilities to protect civilian life on all sides, leaders are not helping to break the vicious cycle that condemns future generations of Palestinians and Israelis to yet more conflict.”
What is the answer to this terrible dilemma? In the end, common humanity and decency, not just political or military objectives, not the powerful desire for revenge, must be our guide. It’s true the Hamas murderers cannot be trusted. It’s true their leaders care little about loss of civilian life on either side. But it’s also true they will not be defeated by fierce bombardment in pursuit of unclear objectives that amounts to the collective punishment of Palestinians. A halt, even if temporary, to the Gaza fighting and bombing is preferable to the daily, mass deaths of civilians. A halt might help secure the release of the more than 200 hostages, including several Britons. It would also allow in life-giving aid and let trapped foreign nationals leave.What is the answer to this terrible dilemma? In the end, common humanity and decency, not just political or military objectives, not the powerful desire for revenge, must be our guide. It’s true the Hamas murderers cannot be trusted. It’s true their leaders care little about loss of civilian life on either side. But it’s also true they will not be defeated by fierce bombardment in pursuit of unclear objectives that amounts to the collective punishment of Palestinians. A halt, even if temporary, to the Gaza fighting and bombing is preferable to the daily, mass deaths of civilians. A halt might help secure the release of the more than 200 hostages, including several Britons. It would also allow in life-giving aid and let trapped foreign nationals leave.
To repeat what we said in this space last week: Israel has a legal and moral right to defend itself. An agreed humanitarian ceasefire would not inhibit that defence, and might ultimately assist it.To repeat what we said in this space last week: Israel has a legal and moral right to defend itself. An agreed humanitarian ceasefire would not inhibit that defence, and might ultimately assist it.
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