History will record the tragedy of Gaza as a human saga of pain, suffering, cruelty and savagery imposed upon hundreds of thousands of people in a brutal act of collective punishment in the name of self-defence.
For more than three months, Israel, in its revenge for the October 7 attack and under the guise of self-defence, has been bombarding Gaza relentlessly, sparing no building, no hospital, no school, no refugee camp, no UN centre, killing over 20,000 people, half of them at least children, with many still under rubble.
Almost the entire Gaza population is now displaced, suffering hunger, cold and disease, with no homes left to go to, no shelters, no hospitals, living in despair alleviated only by hope that refuses to die.
Israeli government officials and military officers keep repeating the mantra that this insane rampage of acts of vengeance is “legitimate self-defence against Hamas”, which is portrayed as “pure evil” to be eradicated at any cost.
The logic used by Israel in this war, supported by the US and other Western powers, is to justify the ultimate goals of Israel, namely the eradication of Hamas and any form of resistance against the more than 70-year occupation of Palestinian territory, as essential to be achieved by any means for the survival of Israel as a “Jewish State”.
Pushing this logic to its ultimate conclusion, killing, injuring or displacing any number of Palestinians, no matter how high, would simply be “collateral damage”, an inevitable price Palestinians have to pay as Israel consolidates its existence upon theirs.
This dangerous logic drives politicians like Benjamin Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing ministers to continue with their military campaign in Gaza and the West Bank, which they refer to by the biblical term Judea and Samaria, resulting, until now, in the death of more than 20,000 people and the forced displacement of almost an entire population, in a war becoming increasingly genocidal in nature, as South Africa is rightly and courageously arguing before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
It is also high time for Israel and its short-sighted supporters to realise that the distorted logic of this suicidal war is self-defeating.
Netanyahu, with all his hawkish rhetoric, has only succeeded in releasing few hostages through talks with Hamas. The more than 100 remaining ones can be returned to their loved ones should Israel engage in more serious negotiations and stop its aggression, as advised by Qatar and other moderate countries in the region.
From the ashes of Gaza, thousands of fighters will rise and will continue the struggle- Saadun Suayeh
It is truly strange that the US, instead of pushing in this direction, is further escalating the conflict by attacking the Houthis in Yemen, rather than putting an end to the root cause of the explosive situation in the region, namely the Israeli aggression. As for Israel’s ultimate goal of eradicating Hamas and any form of Palestinian resistance, it should by now be clear to friend and foe alike that it is unattainable.
After one of the most vicious campaigns in post-World War II history, the only achievements Israel can boast of is mass killing of civilians, mostly the most vulnerable groups, destruction of homes, forced displacement of the population and turning Gaza into the largest open-air concentration camp. In short, in its purported self-defence effort, Israel has committed crimes of war for which the ICJ should hold it responsible.
As for the eradication of Hamas, it is by now evident Israel cannot achieve that goal, even if it kills many more thousands of Palestinians.
Regardless of what we may think of the methods and tactics used by Hamas and similar resistance groups, Hamas embodies an idea or an ideology of resistance which can never be defeated. It is not an army which, by sheer and overwhelming force, can be made to surrender, like what happened during the Six-Day War in 1967.
From the ashes of Gaza, thousands of fighters will rise and continue the struggle. By prolonging its military campaign, Israel will only reap the grapes of wrath. Like the old man in Hemingway’s classic The Old Man and the Sea, organisations like Hamas can be destroyed but never defeated as the flame of resistance can never be extinguished.
In conclusion, the time has come for Israel and its short-sighted supporters to listen to the voice of reason and put an end to this ugly war. There can be no security for Israel in any ‘iron domes’ or any other means of defence until it comes to terms with the Palestinian reality by recognising the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in their homeland.
Palestinians did not descend on Palestine from Mars. They are descendants of the Canaanites, long before the biblical exodus. The Jewish conscience itself, refined by centuries of suffering, not revenge, should not allow the continuation of this mad war engaged in by Netanyahu and the extremist right-wing working against the interests of Israel itself.
Those whose loved ones perished in the Holocaust should never allow themselves to inflict suffering upon thousands of innocent people. As we pray for peace, we should remember that unless the world halts the tragedy of Gaza, Palestinian blood will haunt the conscience of the entire humanity for centuries to come.
Saadun Suayeh is the former ambassador of Libya to Malta.