NO WAY OUT OF GAZA’S HELLISH WAR
Posted on 4th November 2023
War is a terrible business – none more so than the present when the West is afflicted with 2 horrendous conflicts, one in Ukraine and the other in Gaza. There is one cardinal difference between the 2, in Ukraine at least in the main you know where the enemy lies. In Gaza the enemy lurks amidst the citizenry, effectively using them as shields. Militarily this creates an enormous problem. How do you eradicate a fanatical enemy whilst keeping civilian casualties to a minimum. The answer is that it is virtually impossible. The Israelis, obviously enraged by the shocking and brutal onslaught on October 7th, have decided to take Hamas head-on by the use of these bunker busting bombs. The first strike on Tuesday killed one of the ring leaders of the October 7th atrocity Ibraham Biari. The second bomb on Wednesday killed Muhammad A’ sar, head of the anti-tank missile unit. However at what cost ? The first bomb killed 50 and wounded 150. There are now thousands of casualties, many of them children. Gaza is being devastated, hospitals are totally over-stretched, some operations are being carried out on floors, some amputations without anaesthetics, medicines are running out. Everything is in short supply. Getting bread and water, the basic necessities for life ,is becoming increasingly difficult. It is literally, and being so described, as “hell on earth”. Then comes the next problem. If you wish to leave, it is extremely difficult. As I put pen to paper the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is heading to Israel. It sounds to me that the Americans are listening to the many voices that at the very least are looking for a pause in the conflict to allow humanitarian aid to get into Gaza. Presumably it would also allow an opportunity to find a way to speed up the process for those wishing to get out of the place. On Thursday evening it was absolutely bizarre watching the bombardment of Gaza City on CNN, knowing that Israeli troops had surrounded the place. One can only imagine how many civilian casualties there have been despite the Israelis having urged people to move south. Many wouldn’t and many couldn’t. At the centre of this is a very troubling or unsettling issue. What degree of civilian casualty is acceptable – if at all ? There is no question that Vladimir Putin doesn’t care about the civilian casualties in Ukraine. However, it is legitimate to ask to what degree do the Israelis disregard civilian casualties ? How do they eliminate Hamas without killing thousands of innocent civilians ? Are these killings war crimes ? It is all deeply unsettling.
Thank God for the other news – the Beatles new single !
