Over 1,400 dead in Israel. Over 6,000 dead in Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank). You can work out the number of Human lives gone in two weeks. All this is in a little over two weeks. The figures are devastating and a sad reflection of what is happening in that space.
When Hamas struck on that fateful day on October 7th, the world would have braced itself for an Israeli response. Indeed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant were as clear as they could. They were going for Hamas for this heinous crime. What the world could not tell was how far the Israeli’s were going to go in their pursuit of Hamas and also rescue the over one hundred individuals taken as hostages. The videos are there for all who care to see. Several areas in Gaza have been completely flattened with the number of civilian casualties’ way on the high side. How many more would perish in this conflict that has exceeded three generations?
GAZA
For the uninitiated, the Gaza is a tiny enclave.41km wide and 10km wide bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on one side and fenced off from Israel and Egypt. It has been described by many writers as possibly the largest ‘controlled’ prison in the world.
Since 2007 when Hamas took over the Political leadership of the space, Israel has literally taken over the control of its borders and effectively oversees all land, air and sea operations in the space. The people of Gaza essentially would need all kinds of documentation to checking out either at the Erez check point into Israel or at the Rafah checkpoint into Egypt.
It is almost impossible to easily get in and out thus leaving many stuck in there. Now here is the challenge. By virtue of the many restrictions imposed on the people, the population has grown from a little over 1.4m a few years ago to over 2.2 million making it one of the most densely populated places anywhere on the planet. What that means is that you have a large number of people concentrated in multi-story apartments all over the strips.
A UN report on Population densities (2021) stated that one multi story apartment houses an average of 75 inhabitants. There are not too many streets with apartments and buildings very close to each other. The strip also houses offices of various international organisations as well as schools and hospitals. And this is where it sends shivers down the spine of many empathetic people to the Palestinian cause.
THE ISRAELI DEFENCE FORCE
The Military hardware being used by the Israeli Defence force are some of the best in the world if not the very best. Most of the them have been designed thousands of miles away by the United States who support the IDF with equipment worth billions of dollars every year. The IDF’s annual budget of around $23.6 billion, as of 2023, surpasses the total military spending of Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Jordan combined.
To put these figures into perspective, these other powerful nation, ie, Egypt and Iran, who appear to be eternal rivals of the Zionist State cannot possibly compete in an all-out war with the Israeli’s. Hamas despite its purported support from Iran, Hezbollah and other groups in the Middle East thus stand absolutely no chance in getting past their sworn enemies.
The number of deaths suffered in Gaza says everything about the power and the might of the IDF. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Army Staff Herzi Halevi have vowed a long and decisive war against Hamas. That is to suggest that the pounding of Gaza would not let down any time soon.
ISRAEL-HAMAS ANTIPATHY
The Israelis have constantly said they intend to use precision guided weapons in their battle against Hamas and have absolutely no intent of wiping out innocent Palestinian lives. With so many buildings so close to each other in places like Gaza City, Khan Younis, Rafah, Beit Hannoun, Jabalia and more, it is almost impossible to avoid civilian casualties. The figures put out by the Palestinian Authorities is sad and atrocious to say the least.
The number of kids and women is frightening. These kids and women cannot all surely pass for Hamas Fighters. It gets really complicated when the Israelis target a compound or building housed by a supposed Hamas official or fighter. That building could possibly house tens of other families. Most of the hits by the IDF take place at night by which time families may be asleep and may have little time to take cover or get out of their buildings before the bombs are dropped.
The Israelis have long since complained about Hamas using Palestinians as human shields, putting majority of the people in harms’ way. In such a densely populated region, such a challenge would always arise. The IDF have asked as many residents of Northern Gaza to move south for reasons known to everyone now. Destroy any remnants of Hamas and possible do some ground incursions. Then again, there is another challenge. Move south to where exactly? Who is going to accommodate those numbers? How are they going to move in such droves with little or no food and fuel? Walk down south? These and more are questions that would be asked by many around the world.
The Rafah checkpoint has only allowed a few supplies inside Gaza by Humanitarian agencies. This though would surely not be enough to sustain the massive civilian population. The Erez crossing point to the north, controlled by Israel, is closed. Nothing is coming in from those parts.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIATION
More than twenty world leaders from predominantly the Middle East have congregated in Egypt to find a solution to the sad scenes in Gaza. The meeting in Cairo is deemed at de-escalating the conflict to provide Humanitarian aid for civilians. The Arabs are clearly not amused by the punishment being meted to the entire population in Gaza. For Arab countries who have a relationship with Israel like Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and more, pressure is being mounted by their local population to get the Israelis to the negotiating table and fast to avoid collective punishment for the locals.
There have been numerous demonstrations in the Arab world with attacks on some Israeli Embassies and other western Diplomatic buildings. Jordan which has a peace treaty with the Israelis have made themselves very clear on the happenings in Gaza. King Abdullah has been emphatic with their statements. Hear him. “The message the Arab world is hearing is loud and clear. Palestinian lives matter less than the Israelis. Our lives matter less than our lives.
The application of international law is optional and Human Rights have boundaries. They stop at borders. They stop at races and they stop at Religion. That is a very dangerous message. As a consequence of continued international apathy and inaction will be catastrophic on us all, he stressed at the conference in Cairo.” The message is clear from the Arab world.
ROLE OF THE WEST
Some Western leaders including US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have been to Tel Aviv to ostensibly support Israel in these times and emphasize the “Israel has the right to defend itself mantra’. Fair point. The question being asked by many is what effort these two giants are making to deescalate the tensions in the region
THE FUTURE
At this point, it appears Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF Generals are not taking lectures from anyone. The worry for many around the world keeping tabs on the conflict is how many more lives would have to be sacrificed. And to think that Israel is contemplating a ground offensive makes it frightening. We know what that means if they chart that course. Many more would die.
Some encouraging news though. Some of the hostages are being released by Hamas. May be, just maybe, there could be a negotiated settlement to this chaos.
Would the world stand up to address this catastrophe or engage in long winding conversations on the next line of action? Every second counts at this point. The casualty numbers are repulsive.
The writer Kwame Dwomoh-Agyemang, is a Communications and International Relations Professional.