On the 31st day of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health announced the deaths of a total of 10,022 people, more than 40% of whom were minors. “A nightmare,” said the UN Secretary General, who again called for a “humanitarian ceasefire.” Using another name, “tactical pauses,” the President of the United States discussed with the Prime Minister of Israel suspending military operations to allow humanitarian aid at a time when the World Food Program warns that food is about to run out and the Israeli army says it has surrounded the city of Gaza.
When United Nations Secretary General António Guterres made a humanitarian appeal to raise 1.12 billion euros in aid to the Palestinians, he was not gentle in his diagnosis. He recalled that the intensification of the conflict, in addition to local drama, risks spreading throughout the region, claiming innocent lives, including women, children, but also employees of UN agencies and journalists, who have died in record numbers. in such a short time. “The Israeli army’s ground operations and ongoing bombardments target civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and UN facilities, including shelters. No one is safe,” he said.
“The unfolding catastrophe makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent by the hour,” he told reporters in New York. “The parties to the conflict, as well as the international community, are faced with an immediate and fundamental responsibility: to end this inhuman collective suffering and dramatically expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza,” he said. This is because “the nightmare in Gaza is more than a human crisis, it is a crisis of humanity.”
After calling for a “humanitarian ceasefire”, Guterres explained the need to increase the volume of humanitarian aid to an enclave that was receiving 500 trucks a day before October 7, a number that was unprecedented in the entire month that followed was not reached. “Let us be clear: the Rafah crossing alone does not have the capacity to handle humanitarian aid trucks on the scale necessary,” he said.
Tel Aviv’s major ally, the United States, is also pushing for the guns to remain silent, even if only for a few hours. President Joe Biden discussed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the possibility of “pauses” in Israeli military operations. “The two leaders discussed the possibility of tactical pauses to allow civilians to move safely from areas of ongoing fighting, to ensure that aid reaches civilians in need, and to allow for the release of potential hostages,” said the House of Representatives. in a statement.
After meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara, the head of US diplomacy was optimistic about the prospect of more aid to the people of Gaza. “We are working very aggressively to bring more humanitarian aid to Gaza. I think in the coming days you will see aid expand significantly,” said Antony Blinken.
At the same time that Washington is demonstrating its commitment to protecting the lives of Palestinians, it reaffirmed that it will “continue to support Israel against the violent terrorist organization,” in the words of the White House National Security Council spokesman House: John Kirby, and in action, by sending a submarine to the region, where two aircraft carriers and their respective strike groups are already located.
Israeli forces have pushed further into the Gaza Strip in recent hours, following overnight airstrikes that hit 450 targets and left the area under a new communications blackout that lasted 15 hours. The air and ground strikes targeted the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which was isolated this weekend by Israeli forces in their aim to destroy the Islamist Hamas movement. “We have completed our siege and separated Hamas strongholds in the north and south, and it is proving effective,” said Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht. ‘It’s urban warfare up close. There’s a lot of infantry at work.”
Boycott the West
In response to some demonstrations of solidarity from Western companies with Israel, pro-Palestinian activism is beginning to be felt throughout the Middle East through the boycott of products from certain brands. Spanning social media, especially TikTok, the campaign includes pages, mobile phone applications and an extension for Chrome, Google’s browser. “In solidarity with the Palestinians, we have started boycotting all products that support Israel. We don’t want our money to contribute to more fighting,” 14-year-old Jana Abdullah told AFP as she shopped and compared at a supermarket in Bahrain. brands with a list that you consult on your tablet.
Jana was a regular at McDonald’s, but joined many others in the region who stopped doing so after the fast-food chain’s Israeli franchise announced it would offer thousands of meals to Israeli army soldiers. in which it assured that it “does not finance or support any government involved in this conflict.”
In Kuwait, posters with images of bloodied children ask passersby: “Did you kill a Palestinian today?”, referring to consumers who are ignoring the boycott. “A mental image has emerged among Kuwaitis that Western slogans and what they say about human rights do not apply to us,” says activist Mishari al-Ibrahim, explaining that Western support for Israel “promotes the spread of has strengthened the boycott in Israel.” that Gulf country.
Famous activist arrested
The most famous young activist for the cause of Palestine was detained in Nabi Saleh, West Bank, on suspicion of “incitement to violence and terrorist activities,” the Israeli military said. Ahed Tamimi, 22, was arrested after posting on Instagram calling for the “massacre” of Israelis in “all West Bank cities, Hebron and Jenin.” Narimane Tamimi, Ahed’s mother, claims that her daughter did not write that message and could not have done so because as soon as she “tries to open an account on social media, she is immediately blocked.”
Ahed Tamimi started his activism early: at the age of 11, he was already participating in demonstrations. She shot to fame worldwide in 2015 when she tried to prevent her younger brother’s arrest after biting a soldier. Two years later, Ahed and a cousin attacked two Israeli soldiers who invaded their property. As a result, she was sentenced to eight months in prison.
Source: DN
