Fez – Latest news report that at least 400 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of Israeli war on Gaza on July 7th.
It seems that political instability will continue indefinitely in the Middle East. Palestine is the world’s most vulnerable state to war and armed conflicts. Particularly in Gaza Strip, war has been the rule rather than the exception, and innocent people have paid a high price. Since the beginning of the conflict, enormous numbers of Palestinians have been either killed or seriously injured and handicapped. Similarly, large numbers have been seeking refuge in neighboring unstable countries like Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Meanwhile, thousands are behind bars in inhumane circumstances.
Since July 7th, 2014, the international community has watched merciless air strikes bombing populated neighbourhoods in Gaza. Dismal pictures of violent attacks using destructive weapons have occupied the screens of international television and newspapers. Pictures and video footage have shown the international audience the ongoing suffering of a powerless people. Victims, most of whom are children, are being killed very ruthlessly. Some were not more than three weeks old. In an interview with Aljazeera, an Israeli army spokesman put the blame on Hamas Movement as leading the war to the present levels of violence. However, he could not respond convincingly to the newsreader’s question ‘why are you killing children playing at the beach?”
In the same respect, Human Rights Watch has reported that Israeli airstrikes have killed hundreds in Gaza for more than a week. The notable human rights NGO has declared that more than five hundreds tons of explosives have been thrown at Gaza strip. Human Rights Watch has called on Israel to stop assaulting civilians in the occupied land after casualties numbers seem to continue to rise in the callous status quo.
Human Rights Watch reported on July 16th that ‘unlawful’ Israeli airstrikes continue to kill civilians by bombing their homes and shelters. According to the prominent NGO, Israel has deliberately been targeting civilians in a form of collective punishment. Human Rights Watch has reported UN figures claiming that “Israeli attacks in Gaza since July 7th had delivered more than 500 tons of explosives in missiles, aerial bombs, and artillery fire, killed at least 178 people and wounded 1,361 as of July 14, including 635 women and children.”
The same report revealed that the violent attacks had destroyed 1,255 homes, displacing at least 7,500 people. It added that Palestinian armed groups have launched rocket attacks toward Israeli communities, and have killed one citizen since July 7th. Given the insignificant effect of these rocket attacks, media agencies have documented that they had repercussions on Israeli economic stability and social security. The ongoing military offensive in Gaza is yielding escalating civilian casualties. As of Friday July 18th, at least 270 civilians were killed as result of military attacks.
So far, the situation in Gaza remains very heated and tense as apartment buildings are being entirely destroyed by Israeli missiles. Many families have moved their kids to shelter schools, hoping to avoid mass deaths. ‘What should we do in such a situation?’ screams a women whose family was killed in the beginning of the missile attack on Gaza.
Children’s houses and schools were destroyed and families were murdered. Today, Palestine has the largest numbers of orphans in the world, according to the NGO’s numbers. This unfavorable situation has been intensified by violations of both states’ bilateral interests, such as prisoners, humanitarian aid, and Israeli settlements.
The world nowadays, Western and Eastern alike, seems to be motionless vis-à-vis Israeli crimes against innocent citizens in Gaza and Palestine at large. The Israeli lobby, which dominates most influential countries, governments, and human rights bodies, has succeeded in foiling anti-Zionist proposed actions. The Arab League is an exemplary model of a lethargic political body which has remained speechless during this deadly episode in Gaza. UNICEF is a UN-affiliated child protection organisztion whose reaction could not go further than condemning child-killing.
The United States, the world’s most influential country, has denied the painful events taking place in the occupied lands. President Barack Obama, whose election was a distinctive event in the US political history, did not have a clear reaction in regard to the issue. Neither did his Secretary of State, John Kerry. The African American President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been subject to much criticism by peace and human rights’ activists worldwide for his indifference to the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Meanwhile, signs indicate that the situation in Gaza will worsen more and more after a short ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to advance toward the Gaza strip and destroy the tunnels that Palestinians are using for their resistance plans. Wider Israeli operations are taking place after high authorities’ orders for air, soil, and sea invasions, along with warning Palestinians to evacuate their homes.
Palestinian leaders, be they from Fatah or Hamas, repeatedly warn the universal public of more bloodshed in the Gaza Strip as Israeli attacks intensify. On Friday, Palestinians were attacked with gas bombs and rubber bullets in Al Aqsa Mosque while performing their Fajr (Dawn) and Duhr (Noon) prayers, killing three and injuring many.
