Background:
The conflict dates back many decades, when there was no such state as Israel on the world map. Primarily, all the Jews had a strong desire to create a state for them due to the fact that they were brutally massacred and dishonored by all other religious groups, including the Ottoman Empire, which resisted the continuous flow of Jews from Europe to the regions of Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries, which today are Palestine and Israel. Christian groups were also against the influx of Jews, and there were myths regarding this: that Jews kill the children of Christians and then drink their blood. In the two major world wars, WW1 and WW2, a large number of Jews were targeted, but during WW1, civilian Jews were killed who were involved in fighting.
In the second world war, Hitler, who was a great antagonist of Jews, conducted a severe holocaust in which approximately six million Jews were cleansed out. This was the high time when Jews took the greater steps for creating a state, and in 1948, Israel emerged on the map by seizing the territories of Palestine, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and now they were trying to invade more and more areas of Palestine and displacing the people of Palestine by occupying their region, which is termed “Nakba,” which means catastrophe in Arabic.
Developing relations and conflicts between Arabs and Israel:
After the establishment of Israel and its submission to the UN on May 11, 1949, it gave them a free hand to expand their territories and conduct peace treaties with other states, which could pave the way for them in world affairs and for more countries to start to recognize them. The Camp David Accord signed between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in September 1978 provided a framework for peace between the two states, as Egypt was the first Muslim country to recognize Israel. The internal division in Palestine also paved the way for Israel to start capturing Palestine’s territory, as the two major groups in Palestine are the Hamas Group, which is mainly dominated in the Gaza Strip and referred to as a terrorist group by the West, and Palestine’s Liberation Organization (PLO; Fatah controlled government body) which dominates the West Bank, and its emblem shows “from river to sea, Palestine will be free.”
However, there has always been a greater involvement of Israel in the West Bank region. During the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords, the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, for the very first time in history, recognized each other, and they took the initiative to end the long-running conflict between them. But on the flip side, the Hamas group was totally against these accords, and a large number of Palestinian populations also opposed them. Palestinian-American philosopher Edward described them as:
“…. So, first of all, let us call the agreement by its real name: an instrument of Palestinian surrender, a Palestinian Versailles. What makes it worse is that for at least the past fifteen years, the PLO could have negotiated a better arrangement than this modified Allon’s plan…”
Hamas 7th October attack on Israel:
Since then, the conflict between Israel and Palestine has remained a burning issue to this date, and it further accelerated with the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Israel and most of the West declared it a terrorist attack, and on October 8, 2023, Israel declared a full-launch war on Palestine after a very long time, as the last war it fought was the Arab-Israel war. Albeit, many countries have also supported the attack by Hamas, as it is their right to self-determination and self-governance and getting back their lost territory, which originally belonged to Palestine. This catastrophic condition and rising conflict have underscored the stark reality, awakened the Western media and the entire world, and put a great emphasis on the Middle Eastern region.
Over the following years, tensions have arisen in the region, and the long-run conflict has now reached the point where it is affecting almost all the states near it, and major powers like the United States, European Union, and whole of Europe and the Middle East are involved in this. Approximately eight months have passed since the Hamas attack on Israel, and in response to this, Israel launched the deadliest attack and demanded the safe return of Israeli captives kept by the Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which included approximately 251 people, including children, women, and elderly people. According to Israel, this response was against the Hamas offensive attack, but the world has seen how the civilians of Palestine have become victims of this. The humanitarian crisis has been escalating, and the problems of refugees and displacement, health crises, famine conditions, and mental and physical torture have surfaced in the media.
Western media, however, has been partial and biased towards showing the atrocities happening in Palestine and spreading misinformation to shape the narratives of the audience so they start showing sympathy and support for Israel. As it is mainly dominated by the United States, which has released a strong statement in favor of Israel following the Hamas attack on Israel, it announced that it would send renewed shipments of arms and move its Mediterranean Sea warships closer to Israel. Journalists like Saeed Al-Taweel, Motaz Azaiza, Plestia Alaqad, Ibrahim Muhammad Lafi, and many more journalists from Palestine have been very active in showing the world how Palestinian civilians are being tortured and deprived of their basic human rights, so the rest of the world not only believes in one side of the story that is being portrayed in favor of Israel by Western media.
Humanitarian Crisis:
Since the October 7 attack, more than 85 percent of the Palestinian population has fled their homes. Israel gave warnings to the civilians to evacuate the northern Gaza and move into the southern Gaza as they would attack the north. Many civilians took refuge in the south, but it was not possible for everyone to evacuate as there were patients in hospitals, children, and elderly people. Refugees in the South, where they were held in shelters that were considered safe zones for them, were also being targeted there. The Gazan Health Ministry, which is Hamas-run, has estimated the death toll in Gaza at around 34,000, although it is difficult to exactly verify the number as there is limited international access in Gaza. In the first month of fighting, approximately 1,300 Israelis and 1000 Palestinians were killed, which raised serious concerns about the security of civilians. Israel cut off the electricity, food, and water supply to Gaza as a part of what is called a “total siege.” Almost all of the Gazan population has not been supplied with clean water and food, which has led to the health crisis in Gaza.
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 34 people, most of whom were children, have died due to severe malnutrition. In a UN-backed report, half a million Gazans face catastrophic hunger levels, and famine is now imminent in Gaza. Almost 3,000 malnourished children are at risk of dying before their families’ eyes. The medical situation in Palestine is further deteriorating, as according to Sanad: 24 hospitals were damaged, including 6 hospitals in Northern Gaza, 10 hospitals in Gaza City, 1 hospital in Deir el-Balah, and 7 hospitals in Khan Younis. The hospitals are not functional for treating patients as they are also under the attack of Israeli forces. One of the most famous hospitals in Gaza City, “Al-Shifa Hospital, was heavily stormed by the Israeli army, and the medical workers and patients were being killed.
World Leaders Response:
The international response came after the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israel. The United States’s President Joe Biden stated in his statement that he condemned the Hamas attack on Israel and that the White House will be in direct contact with Israel and show its support to them. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Tuerk, said that he is concerned about the safety and security of civilians, as they should never be targeted. The UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, said the UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself. The UAE foreign ministry appealed for a ceasefire as the crisis made both competing parties victims of it. Ukraine’s President, Volodymir Zelensky, showed the utmost support for Israel and said that Israel’s response to self-defense cannot be doubted. The Saudi Arabian ministry also called for restraining the conflict and having negotiations for a ceasefire. Russia’s foreign ministry also called for a cease-fire.
Qatar’s foreign ministry showed support for Palestine, as the Hamas attack on Israel was in response to the on-going involvement of Israel in Palestine, and Israel should not be using this incident to further violate human rights in Palestine. President of Palestine Mahmud Abbass said that the Palestinian people have all the right to defend themselves against the terror of settlers and occupation troops. NATO condemned the terrorist attack by Hamas against its partner Israel. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country is at war, but he will make sure to win this war. Iran’s ministry congratulated the Palestinian fighters and stated that they will stand by Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem. The Hezbollah group of Lebanese said it was in direct contact with the leadership of the Palestine resistance.
Educational crisis in Palestine:
Since the start of the conflict on October 7, the educational institutes in Palestine have been shut down, and children, who are the vast majority, are deprived of their educational rights. According to International Humanitarian Law, in such conflicts, students should not be targeted, as it could pose a serious threat to their mental health and their will to gain education again. Previously, it has been seen that after such devastating war periods, children do not go back to their educational institutes as they cannot get out of the hallucinations of war. This affects them in the long term as they could not have a stable future, and the economic conditions for them have become even worse.
According to a report published, approximately 87.7% of school facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Children in Gaza have strongly desired returning to school, as they want to live a normal life as they did before the conflict. The reason behind the bombardment of educational premises in Palestine is to not make future generations ready for resistance and fighting for their freedom. They should be stopped at the starting level, for if they gain knowledge, they will start demanding their rights, which poses a threat to Israel. In the words of a famous Palestinian poet, Mahmud Darwish:
“The war will end. The leaders will shake hands. The old woman will keep waiting for her martyred son. That girl will wait for her beloved husband. And those children will wait for their heroic father. I do not know who sold our homeland. But I saw who paid the price.”
Conclusion:
While concluding this, for a just and sustainable future, Israel’s bombardment and assault on Palestinian civilians should be halted as soon as possible. Ceasefire is the only solution for protecting civilians on both sides, as the masses face serious challenges due to conflicts. International peace efforts and negotiations should be done to stop the further escalation of this conflict, as the war in any region disturbs international politics and countries have to choose accordingly, which also poses a negative impact on their respective countries. Prioritizing human rights should be the first step to be taken, as innocent civilians are the most targeted people in the conflict zone areas.
The Author, Aina Tahir is a International Relations student at Air University, Passionate about delving into geopolitical complexities and global affairs.
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