Gaza after 200 days of relentless assault

As Israel’s assault on Gaza surpassed its 200^th day on Thursday, the besieged enclave continued to bear the brunt of unmatched violence and devastation.

Contents

“This is beyond warfare” as 7,000 remain missing 75,000 tonnes of explosives dropped as residential areas in ruins 80% of schools damaged or demolished in “scholasticide”Over one million are diseased and dying Healthcare services almost non-existent Analysis Also read

Widely documented — but widely ignored — mass graves, flattened hospitals, and tens of thousands of civilian casualties paint a picture of a world that is looking the other way whilst the conflict rages on. [1]

The Gaza Health Ministry reports a staggering toll of more than 34,000 killed and over 77,000 wounded in Israeli attacks since the onset of the war. [2]

Shockingly, nearly 72 per cent of those killed were women and children, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the onslaught on Gaza’s civilian population. [1]

“This is beyond warfare” as 7,000 remain missing

According to the official Gaza Media Office, approximately 7,000 are unaccounted for, many presumed dead beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings, or executed by Zionist forces.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has said,

“Every ten minutes, a child is killed or wounded.

“They are protected under the laws of war, and yet they are ones who are disproportionately paying the ultimate price in this war.

“The latest images of a premature child taken from the womb of her dying mother, of the adjacent two houses where 15 children and five women were killed — this is beyond warfare.” [3]

75,000 tonnes of explosives dropped as residential areas in ruins

The bombardment has left vast swathes of Gaza in ruins. [1]

A recent report by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) revealed that a staggering 62 per cent of all houses in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. [1]

Indeed, nearly 90,000 housing units have been reduced to rubble. [1]

80% of schools damaged or demolished in “scholasticide”

In an 18 April press release, 25 UN experts — including Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression; and Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences — warned,

“With more than 80 per cent of schools in Gaza damaged or destroyed, it may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as ‘scholasticide’.

“The persistent, callous attacks on educational infrastructure in Gaza have a devastating long-term impact on the fundamental rights of people to learn and freely express themselves, depriving yet another generation of Palestinians of their future.” [4]

Over one million are diseased and dying

Approximately 1.1 million people — half of Gaza’s pre-war population — are still facing catastrophic food insecurity. [1]

According to the Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), the initiative warns that famine is imminent by the end of May 2024, unless there is a rapid cessation of hostilities. [5]

In addition, the Gaza Media Office recently reported that at least 30 children have died from famine-related causes, while over a million have been infected with disease due to displacement and deteriorating living conditions. [1]

Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, said,

“People in Gaza are starving to death right now. The speed at which this man-made hunger and malnutrition crisis has ripped through Gaza is terrifying.

“There is a very small window left to prevent an outright famine and, to do that, we need immediate and full access to the North.

“If we wait until famine has been declared, it is too late. Thousands more will be dead.” [6]

Healthcare services almost non-existent

As has been widely noted in our coverage, Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted Gaza’s healthcare facilities, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis to no end and violating international law, which has little to no teeth.

Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, has warned that at least 350 healthcare professionals have been killed and over 520 wounded since the conflict began. [1]

And the destruction of hospitals and other medical facilities has left hundreds of thousands without access to essential medical services. [1]

In recent months, Israeli forces besieged some of Gaza’s largest hospitals, including Nasser Medical Complex and al-Shifa. Both sites have been obliterated. [1]

Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said of those found within the mass graves,

“Some of them had their hands tied, which of course indicates serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and these need to be subjected to further investigations.” [7]

Moreover, Volker Türk noted,

“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators.

“Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime.” [3]

Likewise, Latifa Patel, Chair of the representative body at the British Medical Association, said of the overall situation in Gaza,

“The sheer scale of suffering has been incredibly painful to witness as the continued imprisonment of hostages, the unbearable suffering and deaths of over 30,000 innocent civilians, especially children, and the devastation of the healthcare system have only exacerbated this worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” [8]

Analysis

ANALYSIS

Fadlur Rahman

Imam, Northwich Muslim Cultural Centre

We have witnessed nothing close to this in recent history

The world has watched for over 200 days, as a live genocide has taken place right in front of us.

Despite this, Biden has signed and pledged to give Israel $26 billion in aid, though they have broken many international laws, including the latest findings of mass graves outside various healthcare facilities.

Abu Ubaydah, Spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, mentioned in a series of messages that Israel has not been able to achieve any of its goals in Gaza.

In fact, the only thing they have achieved is the massacre of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

World is more greyscale than black and white

The world has come to the realisation that not everything we see is black and white, but rather a variety of shades of grey in between.

Take, for example, Biden's pledge to give $26 billion in aid to Israel but only $1 billion to Gaza.

Or how various politicians in the Western world, who could not, and many whom still cannot, call for a cessation of hostilities — let alone a 'ceasefire' — even though innocent men, women, and children are being massacred in their thousands.

The world has seen politicians veto and censor what the fitrah (natural inclination) of a human would normally advocate for, and now there is a huge gap between governments and the people, because of what their own hands have put forth.