Amnesty International said the blockade constitutes “genocide in action”
The conditions in Gaza are beyond what any of us could imagine, and the world has greeted this unprecedented suffering with a shrug.
Famine is stalking the population after Israel decided two months ago not to allow any aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, which is just 26 miles long and home to 2.3 million people.
Now, that bloody reality is only going to become more apocalyptic if Israel goes ahead with plans to dramatically expand its operations, as Israeli officials have said.
The plans echo Mr. Trump’s outlandish plans in the past that the Palestinians be forced out of Gaza to allow the US to turn the enclave into a “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would only feel emboldened to threaten this escalation if Israel’s closest ally and main weapons provider, the US, backed it.
Security cabinet minister Zeev Elkin told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that the plan (which many warned was always the goal) is to move from raid-based operations to occupation and sustained Israeli presence in Gaza, territories they will hold until Hamas is defeated or agrees to disarm and leave.
Israeli officials also said that a key aim of the newly approved offensive plan would be the “transfer” of the civilian population southward. According to Israeli media, all of this will start once President Donald Trump finishes a scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates starting 13 May.
If negotiations for a hostage deal do not bear fruit by the end of Trump’s visit, the military operation will begin “with full force and will not stop until all its objectives are achieved.”
Amnesty International said the blockade constitutes “genocide in action” because blocking the entry of supplies critical for the survival of the population is part of a “policy of deliberately imposing conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza calculated to bring about their physical destruction”.
In Israel, the largest group representing the families of the hostages sounded the alarm about this new plan, imploring the government to “prioritise the hostages. Secure a deal. Bring them home – before it’s too late.”
The only way out of this nightmare is a ceasefire, allowing unfettered entry of aid to Gaza, and through that thorough negotiations for a long-term, sustainable peace deal.
Families in Gaza can begin the long journey of recovery and rehabilitation, and the hostages can be released and returned home to their loved ones.
