Introduction
It is not an undiscovered fact about the atrocities that are being carried out in Gaza now and have been for a very long time. This is a recurring tragedy, because if it is not Gaza then it is Ukraine, when does it all stop? Or does it ever? The hunger for power, the political game, all characters in this game are the same, one major player (Iran) playing the despicable role except nobody wants you to pay attention to the truth and the number of casualties involved.
In this article, we will mainly discuss why war and Gaza’s history and its mapping. We will also be discussing the best policies that can be brought forth to stop large-scale atrocities.
“Local schools, many of them run by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, are already crowded with displaced families. Israel will soon tell more than a million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate immediately, an order that the U.N. calls “impossible.” I look for bakeries, but hundreds of people are queuing outside each one. We barely have doctors for people. Will I, too, become a statistic on the news? I imagine myself dying while hearing my own name on the radio. My seven-year-old daughter, Yaffa, she never asks me, “Daddy, who’s bombing us?” Instead, she cries and tells me, “Daddy, it’s a bomb! I’m scared. I want to hide.” Sometimes I decide not to check the news. We are part of it, I think to myself.”[1]
History of Gaza
Gaza or the Gaza City is a Palestinian city located in the Gaza Strip. And what is the Gaza Strip? The Gaza Strip is a narrow strip of land sandwiched between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, but with a short southern border with Egypt. It used to be a very densely populated state. Gaza is one of the two Palestinian territories, the other one being the West Bank. Gaza is a polity, which came into being in the year 1948, during the Arab-Israel war, wherein it was controlled by the then Egypt. Later, during the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the Gaza Strip, initiating its decades-long military occupation of the Palestinian territories.[2] Then we have something called the “Oslo Accord”, a series of these accords were signed between Israeli forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization (hereinafter referred to as PLO). This Oslo Accord was an interim agreement that provided the PLO with limited government authority. This government authority was then led by “Fatah” a secular political party which was defeated in the year 2006 by the political party named Hamas. Hamas would then take over the governance of Gaza in a battle the next year,[3] following which they would be at war with Israel.
“After rule by the Ottoman Empire ended there in World War I (1914–18), the Gaza area became part of the League of Nations mandate of Palestine under British rule. Before this mandate ended, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in November 1947 accepted a plan for the Arab-Jewish partition of Palestine under which the town of Gaza and an area of surrounding territory were to be allotted to the Arabs. The British mandate ended on May 15, 1948, and on that same day, the first Arab-Israeli war began. Egyptian forces soon entered the town of Gaza, which became the headquarters of the Egyptian expeditionary force in Palestine. As a result of heavy fighting in autumn 1948, the area around the town under Arab occupation was reduced to a strip of territory 25 miles (40 km) long and 4–5 miles (6–8 km) wide. This area became known as the Gaza Strip. Its boundaries were demarcated in the Egyptian-Israeli armistice agreement of February 24, 1949.”[4]
Additional Information: Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, abbreviated as HAMAS, is a political party and also a resistance movement which follows the Sunni Islamic ideology. HAMAS was founded by a Palestinian activist and an imam named Ahmed Yassin in the year 1987. Hamas emerged from his 1973 Mujama al-Islamiya, which is an Islamic charity affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. In the year 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative election by campaigning on clean government without corruption, combined with affirmation of Palestinians’ right to armed struggle against the Israeli occupation, thus winning a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council.[5] In 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from rival Palestinian faction Fatah.[6] [7] Subsequently, the Israeli forces imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip with the help of the Egyptian forces, this led to other future wars that we come to know between Hamas and Israel in the years 2009 to 2009, then again in the year 2012, 2014 and 2021.
Additional Information: What is the blockade of the Gaza Strip? First, we will understand what a blockade means. A blockade is the act to actively blocking or preventing a country or a nation from receiving or sending out goods or important supplies like food and water, or weapons and people. Any sort of communication will also be cut off by the country that has imposed the blockade. As obvious as it is, something like this is scary and isolates a country from actively seeking any sort of assistance as well. Blockades often result in the starvation of the civilian population, notably few examples that can be provided are the implementation of the blockade on Germany during World War I and the blockade of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War.[8] According to modern international law, blockades are an act of war.[9] When used as a part of an effort to starve the civilian population, they are illegal as part of a war of aggression.[10] or when used against a civilian population, instead of a military target.[11] In such cases, they are a war crime and potentially a crime against humanity.[12]
Current Scenario: The blockade’s current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas.[13] Human rights groups have called the blockade illegal and a form of collective punishment, as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits Gazans’ freedom of movement.[14] The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being called an “open-air prison”.[15]
Geography
“The Gaza Strip is situated on a relatively flat coastal plain. Temperatures average in the mid-50s F (about 13 °C) in the winter and in the upper 70s to low 80s F (mid- to upper 20s C) in summer. The area receives an average of about 12 inches (300 mm) of precipitation annually.
Living conditions in the Gaza Strip are typically poor for a number of reasons: the region’s dense and rapidly increasing population (the area’s growth rate is one of the highest in the world); inadequate water, sewage, and electrical services; high rates of unemployment; and, from September 2007, sanctions imposed by Israel on the region.
Agriculture is the economic mainstay of the employed population, and nearly three-fourths of the land area is under cultivation. The chief crop, citrus fruit, is raised on irrigated lands and is exported to Europe and other markets under arrangement with Israel. Truck crops, wheat, and olives also are produced. Light industry and handicrafts are centred in Gaza, the chief city of the area.”[16]
In politically stable times, as much as one-tenth of the Palestinian population travels daily to Israel (where they are not allowed to stay overnight) to work in menial jobs. Political tension and outbreaks of violence often led Israeli authorities to close the border for extended periods, putting many Palestinians out of work. As a result, a thriving smuggling industry emerged, based on a network of subterranean tunnels linking parts of the Gaza Strip with neighbouring Egypt. The tunnels provided Palestinians with access to goods such as food, fuel, medicine, electronics, and weapons.
There are currently three ways you can get in and out of Gaza, out of which two are already blocked by the Israeli forces and another one is controlled by Egypt. Israel heavily regulates Palestinians’ movement through Erez, with applications considered only for a small number of labourers (less than 5% of the number considered in 2000) and for limited medical and humanitarian reasons.[17] Israel’s military cooperation with Egypt and its control of the population registry (through which it controls who can obtain the necessary travel documents) gives it influence over movement through Rafah.[18]
In 2007, after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, Israel imposed an indefinite blockade of Gaza that remains in place, on the grounds that Fatah and Palestinian Authority forces had fled the Strip and were no longer able to provide security on the Palestinian side.[19] In response, Hamas fired thousands of rockets towards urban areas in Israel.[20] Is it not very well understood that once you impose a blockade on a country they are forced to starve? They are forced to suffer. They are forced to live in the dark! They are also prevented from asking for any sort of help from other neighbouring countries. Why should children and the ones that are not even born, children as young as seven years old, men and women suffer because of a political fight? Israel goes on to impose even stricter restrictions in the already stricter restrictions which provides for only goods to enter are the ones that are humanitarianly necessary for survival, and the rest goods are ceased.
The reason for the ongoing war is due to the Hamas-led militant group directed a surprise attack on Israel. It is estimated that approximately at least three thousand militants breached the Gaza-Israel border and attacked Israeli civilians and foreign nationals were killed. This is around 1,139 combined out of which 766 were civilians. They also go on to attack security personnel which includes approximately three hundred and seventy – three people, and various military bases in Israel. In addition to this, around two hundred and fifty-two Israelis as well as foreigners were captured and taken back to the Gaza Strip.[21] Hamas said its attack aimed at liberating Palestinian lands and prisoners and was in response to Israel’s expansion of settlements, persisting blockade, and threats to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.[22] [23]
WHAT YOU DID NOT KNOW:
“1. Violence did not begin with the attacks from Gaza:
Even before Oct. 7, last year (2023) was one of the most violent years in Palestine in more than a decade. At least 247 Palestinians—including 47 children—had been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers before the end of September. During the same period, Israeli settlers launched over 800 attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian-owned property. Additionally, over 1,100 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced from their homes. These actions occurred in a context where Israeli land confiscation, mass arrest campaigns, military attacks on Palestinian cities, and threats to Palestinian control over Al-Aqsa mosque—an important religious site in Jerusalem—have all increased.
Since coming to power, the far-right Netanyahu government in Israel has escalated violence against Palestinian communities while rejecting any possibility of Palestinian independence or equality. Settler leaders now hold sway in Israel and have taken concrete steps toward annexing the West Bank while pushing forward efforts to eliminate Palestinians from the majority of the West Bank. For Palestinians, violence is an extreme, daily reality.
- 2. Gaza has been under a violent blockade for 16 years.
For over 16 years, the people of Gaza have lived under an Israeli-imposed blockade that severely limits travel, trade, and everyday life for its over two million residents. As a result, the effects have been brutal, even prior to the expanded siege now underway:
- 80% of people in Gaza rely on international assistance to survive.
- More than 50% of the population are unemployed.
- Hospitals have consistently been out of up to 40% of needed supplies and medicine.
- Approximately 96% of water in Gaza is undrinkable.
- Electricity is only available sporadically.
The blockade severely impacts the lives and health of all Palestinians in Gaza. Children’s growth is stunted due to malnutrition. Palestinians die because they can’t access medical care. Families are separated due to movement restrictions. And the blockade is enforced through violence. Israeli military incursions into Gaza occur weekly, Israeli forces fire into Gaza daily, and bombings of Gaza occur regularly. Israel’s military actions in Gaza have claimed thousands of Palestinian lives over the years. Between Jan. 1, 2008 and Sept. 19, 2023, more than 5,365 Palestinians have been killed, including 1,206 children. After Israel’s previous attacks on Gaza, there were promises that the blockade would be lessened or ended. But the blockade continues with deadly effect for Palestinians in Gaza.
- Under international law, both Palestinians and Israelis have bounded legal rights to use violence. But violence will not bring just and lasting peace.
The U.S. government has repeatedly said that people living under foreign military occupation—as in Ukraine—have a right to militarily resist their occupation. Palestinians have that same right. At the same time, the laws of war that lay out the right to resist occupation also limit that right, forbidding attacks on civilians—like those witnessed on Oct. 7—and other war crimes.
The same laws of war lay out obligations for occupying powers, including Israel, and limit their actions. For decades, Israel has systematically violated its obligations under international law toward Palestinians, violating their rights and implementing a system of apartheid in the areas it controls. The prohibition on attacks on civilians and civilian targets also applies to Israel. As a Quaker organization, AFSC opposes all violence and works toward its end. We know that violence will not end through more violence. To bring change, we must address the roots of conflict, including historic and ongoing Palestinian displacement, occupation, and the reality of apartheid.”[24]
WHAT CAN WE DO?
The most common steps that are taken as of now is the majority of people out there talking about the Palestinian crisis, there have been protests all over the world. Celebrities from various industries have been speaking about it. People from all around the globe have been sharing information and spreading awareness on their respective social media platforms about the ongoing atrocities committed in Gaza.
- Currently, an active protest for a ceasefire on the Gaza War issue is going on. And what is a ceasefire? A ceasefire(also known as a truce or armistice[25]), also spelt as a cease-fire (the antonym of ‘open fire’[26]), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions, often due to mediation by a third party.[27] Ceasefires may be between state actors or involve non-state actors.[28] Ceasefires may be intended to meet short-term limited needs (such as providing humanitarian aid), manage a conflict to make it less devastating, or advance efforts to peacefully resolve a dispute.[29] Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but also as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces.[30] They may occur via mediation or otherwise as part of a peace process or be imposed by United Nations Security Council resolutions via Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.[31]
What is Armistice? Armistice, an agreement for the cessation of active hostilities between two or more belligerents.[32] And what are belligerents? According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, a belligerent belongs to or is recognized as a state at war and is protected by and subject to the laws of war.[33]
#CEASEFIRENOW: Open Call for an Immediate Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israel to Stop the Humanitarian Catastrophe and Further Loss of Innocent Lives[34]
Today, we put our voices together and call on all Heads of State, the UN Security Council, and actors on the ground, to prioritize the preservation of human life above all else. During this ceasefire, we call on all parties to unconditionally.
- Facilitate the delivery of lifesaving assistance, including food, medical supplies, fuel, and the resumption of electricity and internet to Gaza, in addition to the safe passage of humanitarian and medical staff,
- Free all civilian hostages, especially children and elderly,
- Allow humanitarian convoys to reach UN facilities, schools, hospitals, and health facilities in northern Gaza and commit to protecting them along with the civilians and staff inside them at all times,
- Rescind orders by the Government of Israel for civilians to depart northern Gaza,
- Allow patients in critical condition to be medically evacuated for urgent care,
The UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General and all world leaders with influence must take immediate action to ensure a ceasefire comes into effect. It remains our only option to avert further loss of civilian life and humanitarian catastrophe. Anything less will forever be a stain on our collective conscience. Civilians are not bargaining chips. Families need a chance to bury and mourn their dead. The cycle of violence against innocent civilians needs to stop.
- Celebrities and many more are actively taking part in showing their solidarity with Gaza in the form of protests, rallies and marches.
- One needs to counter negative media narratives or the lack thereof. Media outlets that do not actually talk about what’s happening in Gaza or are actively speaking about it.
- Donate! Donate! Donate! As much as you can. Whatever you can.
Conclusion:
“By placing the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the heart of his Cairo speech, President Obama has acknowledged that resolving this issue is one of the lynchpins of stability in the Middle East. Yet, a terrorist organization is governing Gaza while Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank, making chances of a peace deal in the near future highly unlikely.”[35]
There are many solutions that can be put forth for resolving the most unresolvable conflicts in the world. This is not a comparison of any sort, we see an optimistic side to the war – that is that it will stop one day, there will be an end to injustice, and that peace will prevail. Why are we optimistic about this? There are many examples that can be provided, one notable example is India’s struggle for its independence, which lasted for over two hundred years, while simultaneously always fighting back those two hundred years. While every day is a struggle for Palestine, there are many ways that we can help and assist. However, it is the twenty-first century after all, and being silent on such matters is not an option. We do not need to wait for 200 years!
The death toll in Gaza is increasing, there is an active threat of famine in Gaza, thousands of people are injured, and less than a hundred hospitals exist. All the remaining safe spots have been under attack as well.
“A three-state solution offers something to all three parties. Israel can feel that it has achieved a greater degree of security with a secular, modern, and separate West Bank on its flank – improving relations with Fatah while further marginalizing the armed thugs in Gaza. For its part, Fatah will receive ownership of a newly liberated West Bank and access to foreign aid. And Hamas will get control of the reins of power in Gaza, allowing it to continue creating a traditional Palestinian society.
By creating two Palestinian states, the international community can isolate the extremists in Gaza, while affording the West Bank an opportunity to grow. A three-state solution would put Gaza in direct competition with the West Bank, and Hamas would be forced to govern or risk becoming the rump of the region.”
The Palestinian conflict is a multifaceted challenge, anyone bringing forth any sort of change should understand that a balance is to be maintained. One need to possess great knowledge on the historical background of Gaza as well as its geographical features and obviously empathy will play a great role in formulating a plan to help Gaza in its crisis. The situation is inherently sensitive and involves the lives of people who have found themselves in the midst of infinite chaos. One needs to explore possible methods and explore various dimensions. Every little detail matters, addressing the impact on human lives matters, and acknowledging the suffering on all sides matters. It is important not to be biased and approach this topic with an open mind especially when such topics can evoke strong emotions. Which will always lead you astray. Before formulating policies, one should navigate through the complexities and nature of the ongoing atrocities. Always be up to date with current affairs and ever-changing news and provide a fair and comprehensive analysis on the same. Topics such as these are very specific in nature and only a high quality – well researched will give you a better final product. Policies need to be thoughtful, and well-informed approach driven and to avoid any bias or negative viewpoints.
In this article, in order to make it easier to understand the ongoing conflict or just the article in general. Every now and then we will be describing common, repeatedly used words or concepts that are also most important for the connectivity of the article, these words will be highlighted, such as Hamas or the 1967 Six-day War and many more. We do this, in order to provide the reader with more in-depth information as well as keep the article user-friendly wherein one will not have to research more on the topic in order to gain more information on the same.
[1] THE VIEW FROM MY WINDOW IN GAZA, By Mosab Abu Toha, Oct 20, 2023, The New Yorker. Retrieved from: The View from My Window in Gaza | The New Yorker [2] "Gaza Strip | Definition, History, Facts, & Map | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 22 November 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. [3] Joshua Castellino, Kathleen A. Cavanaugh, Minority Rights in the Middle East, Archived 2 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine Oxford University Press 2013 p.150:'Palestinians under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza constitute a majority (demographically) with representation by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), a self-governing body run by Fatah in the West Bank, and by Hamas in the Gaza Strip'. [4] Gaza Strip | Definition, History, Facts, & Map | Britannica [5] Madelene Axelsson (27 January 2006). "Islamistisk politik vinner mark" (in Swedish). Stockholms Fria Tidning. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. [6] Davis, Jessica (2017). Women in Modern Terrorism: From Liberation Wars to Global Jihad and the Islamic State. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1442274990. [7] Mukhimer, Tariq (2012). Hamas Rule in Gaza: Human Rights Under Constraint. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1137310194. [8] Nicholas Mulder, Boyd van Dijk (2021). "Why Did Starvation Not Become the Paradigmatic War Crime in International Law?". Contingency in International Law: On the Possibility of Different Legal Histories. Oxford University Press. pp. 370–. [9] Russell, Alison Lawlor (2023). "Digital Blockade or Corporate Boycott?: A New Tactic of War". Æther: A Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower. 2 (1): 16–30. ISSN 2771-6120. JSTOR 48714684. [10] Dannenbaum, Tom (28 July 2023). "What You Need to Know: International Humanitarian Law and Russia's Termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative". Just Security. [11] ihl-databases.icrc.org https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule53. [12] Dannenbaum, Tom (2021–2022). "Siege Starvation: A War Crime of Societal Torture". Chicago Journal of International Law. 22: 368. [13] "Light at the End of Their Tunnels? Hamas and the Arab Uprisings" (PDF). International Crisis Group. 14 August 2012. p. 38, note 283. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2012. [14] "Gaza Up Close". Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement. 2023. [15] "Blockade of Gaza Strip". Britannica. Retrieved 17 October 2023. In autumn 2007 Israel declared the Gaza Strip under Hamas a hostile entity and approved a series of sanctions that included power cuts, heavily restricted imports, and border closures. In January 2008, facing sustained rocket assaults into its southern settlements, Israel broadened its sanctions. [16] Id 2. View Footnote 2. [17] Exits by Palestinians from Gaza via Erez Crossing – Gisha. (December 26, 2023). Retrieved from https://gisha.org/en/exits-by-palestinians-via-erez-crossing-to-israel-the-west-bank-and-abroad [18] FAQs – Gisha. (2023, November 26). Retrieved from https://gisha.org/en/faqs [19] Kershner, Isabel (14 December 2007). "Abbas's Premier Tells Israel to Reopen Gaza". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011. [20] Pinfold, Rob Geist (2023). "Security, Terrorism, and Territorial Withdrawal: Critically Reassessing the Lessons of Israel's "Unilateral Disengagement" from the Gaza Strip". International Studies Perspectives. 24 (1). King’s College London, UK and Charles University, Czech Republic: 67–87. doi:10.1093/isp/ekac013. [21] "Hamas says it has enough Israeli captives to free all Palestinian prisoners". Al-Jazeera. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. [22] Pacchiani, Luca (7 October 2023). "Hamas deputy chief anticipates hostages will be swapped for Palestinian prisoners". The Times of Israel. [23] Khoury, Jack (21 January 2024). "Hamas Releases Memo Explaining Why It Waged War on Israel; Gazans Question Timing, Cite Criticism of Hamas". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 7 February 2024. [24] 5 things you need to know about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza, By Michael Merryman–Lotze, updated May 13th, 2024. Retrieved from: 5 things you need to know about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza | American Friends Service Committee (afsc.org) [25] Clayton, Govinda; Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv; Rustad, Siri Aas; Strand, Håvard (2023). "Ceasefires in Civil Conflict: A Research Agenda". Journal of Conflict Resolution. 67 (7–8): 1279–1295. doi:10.1177/00220027221128300. hdl:20.500.11850/576568. ISSN 0022-0027. S2CID 252793375. [26] Forster, Robert A. (2019), "Ceasefires", in Romaniuk, Scott; Thapa, Manish; Marton, Péter (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies, Springer, pp. 1–8, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_8-2, ISBN 978-3-319-74336-3, S2CID 239326729 [27] Fortna, Virginia Page (2004). Peace Time: Cease-Fire Agreements and the Durability of Peace. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-18795-2. OCLC 1044838807. [28] Id 25. [29] Ibid. [30] Id 26. [31] Ibid. [32] Armistice | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica [33] Belligerents Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster [34] Below points have been taken from the petition, which is retrieved from: Open Call for an Immediate Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Oxfam International [35] Policy Essay, Colin. P Clarke, Division by Addition Why a Three-State Solution is Better Than Two, Page 149, 151. Retrieved from: policyessay3.pdf (princeton.edu)
