The horrendous attacks by Hamas against Israel on the morning of October 7 caught everyone by surprise and represent a massive intelligence failure by Israel. The international community is right to condemn atrocities against innocent people.
As expected, Israel responded with massive retaliatory strikes, attacking approximately 2,400 targets inside Gaza. It has also imposed a total siege on Gaza, cutting off supplies of electricity, water, fuel, and food.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has talked of a “long and difficult war” and that all the places where Hamas is based in Gaza or operates from will be turned “into rubble”.
The death toll on both sides has now soared to over 1,500, and thousands have been injured. An additional 123,000 people are displaced within Gaza, according to UN sources.
Hamas has taken close to 150 Israeli hostages, including children, women, and the elderly – representing a new low in behaviour by this group.
The sight of terrorists gunning youngsters at a rave party and celebrating was stomach-churning.
While Israel has the right to defend itself and to respond to these attacks by Hamas, its excessive use of force and its collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population – something it has done for decades – is not justifiable and is counterproductive.
It will turn international public opinion against Israel and will only harden the narrative that peace in the Middle East can never be possible.
This latest war without doubt highlights a massive failure of politics and the lack of international engagement vis-à-vis the Palestinian/Israeli dispute.
Palestinians have endured decades of brutal Israeli occupation, the building of illegal settlements in the West Bank, the destruction of the Gaza economy through an Israeli blockade, and the demolition of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem.
Yet, the world seems content to turn a blind eye to Israel’s policies and to no longer insist on a two-state solution – something Israel’s successive right-wing governments have long abandoned.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment is the stance adopted by the United States, the one country with real influence over Israel, which is no longer considered an honest broker in the Middle East due to its exaggerated support for Israel.
Hamas remains an Islamist group dead-set to deny Israel’s right to exist and will never negotiate with Israel.
It is backed and funded by Iran and classified as a terrorist group by the EU, the US and the UK. The best way to isolate Hamas, however, is for Israel to take peace talks with the Palestinian Authority seriously, to stop building illegal settlements and to commit itself to the creation of a Palestinian state.
The world cannot continue turning a blind eye to the fact thay many of those living in Gaza are no supporters of Hamas. Almost half the population there is made up of children.
What needs to be avoided at all costs is an escalation of this war into a regional conflict. Hezbollah – also backed by Iran – could be tempted to open a new front from Lebanon. If Iran gets involved in this war it would have disastrous consequences.
The situation in the Middle East is now worse than it has been for decades, and an international effort is urgently needed to bring about a truce, to have the hostages held by Hamas released and to kick-start negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Regional powers such as Turkey, Qatar and Egypt as well as large powers such as the US and the EU need to act swiftly to avoid this situation spiralling out of control.