On October 29, local time, Israel launched multiple rounds of air strikes against the Gaza Strip. This is not gossip. The Palestinian Civil Defense Agency confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the air strikes have killed at least 50 people and injured about 200 others.
Even more disturbing is the fact that 22 of the dead are children, and a lot of women, originally on October 10, when the two sides just signed the ceasefire agreement, Gaza is not easy to breathe, as a result of the airstrike, the agreement directly faces a crisis of rupture.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesman of the Civil Defense Agency, was particularly excited, saying that the air strikes have not stopped since last night, which is obviously trampling on the ceasefire agreement, and Gaza is now in a catastrophic situation.
Every time I hear this kind of news, I feel very sad. Civilians have always been the most innocent group in conflicts.
Border friction explodes conflict
The source of the escalation must go back to the October 28 border friction, when the Israeli military said Hamas militants attacked Israeli forces stationed in the “yellow line” of Gaza on the same day, in violation of the ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.
The yellow line, the border withdrawal agreed in the ceasefire agreement, was completed on October 11, but still occupies 53 percent of Gaza.
It was thought that withdrawal would always be less contradictory, but it was later discovered that the scope of territorial control was not matched, friction was still easy to find, and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu soon ordered a "strong attack".
As for whether the Israeli army itself suffered casualties, they did not respond directly, only emphasizing that this action was "necessary retaliation for the breach of contract."
On the other hand, Hamas immediately issued a statement denying it, saying that it had nothing to do with the attack in Rafah and was still firmly abiding by the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas also said something. They were supposed to hand over the remains of Israeli detainees, but they were delayed due to Israeli military operations. In their view, the responsibility for the delay in handover lies entirely with Israel.
The two sides argued their own reasons and blamed each other. The most serious crisis of trust since the implementation of the ceasefire agreement broke out just like this. Trust between Palestine and Israel is already fragile. With such a fuss, it will be even more difficult to return to the negotiating table.
Early ceasefire agreement
The ceasefire agreement was mediated by the Trump administration, and at the beginning everyone had high hopes, the framework of the first phase was clear, the Israeli military withdrew to the "yellow line", opened humanitarian aid channels, and Hamas released detainees and returned the bodies.
There are four working groups of the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, responsible for monitoring the implementation of the agreement, in the three weeks after the agreement came into force, Gaza has indeed met a brief calm, but the calm has already flooded.
On October 19, the Israeli army placed a physical mark on the "yellow line", also warned that "the crossing of the line opened fire", Hamas was not on the other side, and repeatedly complained about insufficient access to humanitarian aid, so it seems that the gap in the agreement has long been filled.
In the past, Palestine and Israel have signed many ceasefire agreements, but most of them failed due to vague implementation details. Although this time they proposed "opening up humanitarian aid channels", they did not clarify how much aid was needed and how to transport it. The rights and responsibilities of the supervision working group were not clear.
If something really goes wrong, no one can stand up to arbitrate, and conflicts will naturally accumulate. Hamas complains that aid is not enough, and Gazans even lack basic daily necessities. The "sufficient supply" in the agreement has become empty talk. This conflict The resurgence is not unexpected.
Escalating Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
As the conflict escalated, the people in Gaza were still the most affected, humanitarian catastrophe looked at and fermented, and Gaza's largest medical institution, the Shifa Hospital, revealed that the emergency room has been crowded with casualties, and some seriously injured people are in danger because of the shortage of medicines, even their lives.
The beds in the hospital have long been running out of enough, and the medical staff are estimated to have reached their limit, revolving around to save people.
The United Nations Relief and Project Office for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East has called for a ceasefire, saying the conflict over the past two years has killed 6,7 million people, and more than 1 million people have been displaced, and Gaza can’t afford a new war.
It is unclear why every conflict, the injured are innocent civilians, the population density in Gaza was high, the airstrike came, there is no place to hide, and about 80% of the people here rely on humanitarian aid to survive, this airstrike, the transportation of goods is more difficult.
The people even eat, drink, and cure medicines are not guaranteed, this day really can not be passed, it is obvious, no matter what the reason for the conflict, to let civilians fall into this situation, is absolutely not a wise move.
IV. It is difficult for peace to be achieved when the attitudes of all parties are divided
In the face of such a severe situation, the attitude of the international community has diverged greatly, the UN and the ICRC have been working hard, and the Red Cross also wanted to bring drugs through the port of Rafah, resulting in the security situation being hindered.
The United States, as a mediator, has a bit of a subtle attitude, the White House has only said that it is "focused on the escalation of the situation", not even judging who is wrong.
I thought that since the United States was involved in the mediation, we should be positive, and later found that they may be more concerned about things on the Iranian side, and not so much about the Israeli conflict.
On the other hand, Egypt and Qatar were eager to start diplomatic coordination and summoned representatives of Israel and Hamas respectively, asking them to return to the negotiating table. This is understandable. Egypt and Qatar are close to Gaza. If the conflict spills over to their own countries, the trouble will be big.
There is no doubt that the Palestinian conflict for so many years has been trapped in the cycle of "fire-fire-opening", and the core problems are still historical territorial disputes, religious contradictions and these fundamental problems have not been solved.
A ceasefire is mostly a “temporary ceasefire”, without a long-term political solution supported, and sooner or later problems will arise, and the poorest, always those innocent civilians, especially children, who have done nothing wrong, but have to bear the pain of the conflict.
It is hoped that the international community will really act to safeguard the basic survival of the Gaza civilians, and then help both sides to find a long-term peaceful way, after all, there is no reason to make children the victims of the conflict.