Israel’s atrocities are beyond words
We are appalled to see how quickly the situation in Gaza has spiralled after Israel resumed its attacks on the enclave. Since the seven-day truce collapsed on Friday, it has renewed its bombing as well as ground offensive in an apparent effort to raze what's left of Gaza to the ground. So intense and relentless were the attacks that in the 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday, more than 700 Palestinians have been killed.
We are at a loss for words to condemn the barbarism that Israel is unleashing upon Gaza residents in its campaign to demolish Hamas. Despite growing concerns over the unfolding humanitarian crisis, it continues its warfare on an unprecedented scale, in a blatant disregard for international law. Since the conflict broke out, Israel has conducted 10,000 airstrikes on Gaza, according to its own military. As a result, 15,523 people, including over 6,000 children and a number of aid workers, have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza's health ministry. The UN estimates that some 1.8 million people—nearly 75 percent of Gaza's population—have been displaced so far.
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Israel keeps claiming that its hostility against the Palestinians is in self-defence, which sounds laughable at this stage. What threat did they pose to it after the weeklong pause expired, or throughout its bombing campaign since Hamas' invasion of southern Israel in early October? Are we to assume that Israel is seeing all Palestinians as members of Hamas? Or could it have a more sinister plan? Even though Israel says it is trying to prevent civilian casualties and wants only to exterminate Hamas, the reality on the ground suggests that its actual goal is a complete takeover of the Gaza Strip by denuding it of Palestinians.
Israelis, for decades, have had the world's sympathy because of the Holocaust—a blot on humanity. But the cruelty shown by the Israeli politico-military complex towards Palestinians has also garnered protests worldwide. The intensity of its attacks in Gaza is so horrifying that a Unicef spokesperson said on Sunday that Gaza resembled a "death zone." It truly is. If Israel continues its genocidal acts defying international law as well as calls for immediate ceasefire, Gaza may soon become a veritable graveyard. World leaders must come together with stronger resolve to put an end to this unjust and brutal campaign against a defenceless population.
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