A fundamental objective of International Humanitarian Law is to reduce the death and suffering of civilian populations in the midst of war. In Gaza, Hussein Ibish, Arab Gulf States Institute, defines Hamas as a millenarian group, apocalyptic, believing a divine mandate with a religious imperative. Israel is understood to be a modern democracy with a rules based system of justice. Respect for International Humanitarian Law is expected of Israel and not a realistic expectation for Hamas.
Jason Burke, in Jerusalem, writing for the Guardian, reports the finding of ‘utter annihilation’ in travel by a UNICEF representative in Gaza.
James Elder, a spokesperson with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), described the prospect of an attack into Rafah as “terrifying”.
“A military offensive in Rafah would be utterly catastrophic. The last remaining water points and hospitals [in Gaza] are there and there is nowhere else to go. Khan Younis, Gaza City barely exist any more,” he said. “Rafah is Gaza’s last hope and it is utterly bewildering that a conversation on a potential military operation is still continuing.” (Burke, n.d.)
On March 22,2024, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, met the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for talks aimed at ensuring more aid gets into Gaza, amid increasingly tense relations between the two allies over the war.
“One hundred per cent of the population of Gaza is experiencing severe levels of acute food insecurity. We cannot, we must not allow that to continue,” Blinken told a news conference late on Thursday March 2, 2024. (Burke, n.d.)
Blinken is also expected to discuss Israel’s intention to launch a ground offensive on Rafah, where more than half of the population of Gaza is sheltering in makeshift accommodation.
Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to launch an attack into the city, which he says is the final stronghold of Hamas. The US president, Joe Biden, has said this would cross a “red line” for the US.
The war was triggered by a surprise attack into southern Israel by Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, mostly civilians. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in the subsequent Israeli bombardments, mostly civilians, Gaza health authorities say. (Burke, n.d.)
Julian Borger in Washington, Lisa O'Carroll in Brussels and Peter Beaumont in London report, for the Guardian, that EU leaders call for ‘immediate humanitarian pause’ while the US is expected to bring a UN resolution calling for truce without delay.
The Biden administration has argued that an unconditional ceasefire would undermine leverage on Hamas to release its captives, seized during its 7 October attack on Israel, in which hundreds of civilians were killed. If the hostage talks in Doha fail however, the Biden administration will be faced with a dilemma: whether to continue to insist on the linkage between hostages and a ceasefire in the face of a clear warning this week from a UN panel of experts that a catastrophic famine in Gaza is imminent. At the UN, the French envoy, Nicolas de Rivière, said: “It’s time to save lives.”
“The death toll is around 32,000 men and women. It needs to stop now. This is why I will encourage the security council to take action before the end of the week, before the weekend,” de Rivière said. “Each time there is a crisis in the world, the first thing the security council is asking for a ceasefire, and then talks. This is what we have to do on Gaza as well. There should not be an exception.”
The new text sends Israel the clearest message yet of the Biden administration’s growing frustration with its prosecution of the war, and comes after a warning from the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, that Israel may be committing a war crime by using “starvation as a method of war”. (Borger et al., n.d.)
UN experts and agencies are increasingly concerned that there will be severe famine in Gaza as a consequence of the rejection by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of efforts by the US, EU, and UN to create ceasefire conditions that will save civilian lives from death by starvation.
References
Borger, J., O'Carroll, L., & Beaumont, P. (n.d.). EU and US pile on pressure for Gaza ceasefire. the Guardian. Retrieved March 23, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/21/eu-and-us-pile-on-pressure-for-gaza-ceasefire
Burke, J. (n.d.). Unicef official tells of ‘utter annihilation’ after travelling length of Gaza. the Guardian. Retrieved March 23, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/22/unicef-official-utter-annihilation-gaza
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