Israel-Palestine War Escalates: Israeli Army Bombards Gaza
Israel-Palestine War Escalates: Israeli Army Bombards Gaza
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said that the Hamas attack on Israel did not take place in vacuum.
By RMN News Service
The violence that began about three weeks ago when Palestinian civil defence force Hamas attacked Israel, is poised to take the shape of a full-fledged war. After its warning a couple of days ago, the Israeli army has started a ground offensive against the people in Gaza.
According to a Reuters report of today (October 26), Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip with the purported aim to annihilate Hamas. But hundreds of civilians are being killed in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
As a result of arbitrary attacks being carried out by the IDF under the directions from the brutal Israeli prime minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu, the humanitarian aid to Gazans has been blocked. The Reuters report adds that people are burying the dead bodies of civilians in mass graves.
Since October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, more than 5,000 people in Gaza have been killed, including 2,000 children, mostly as a result of IDF attacks and operations. Nearly 1,300 Israeli citizens and residents have also been killed as a result of attacks by Palestinian armed groups.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, civilians constitute the majority of those killed in both Gaza and Israel. Over 1,400, including 800 children, are reportedly trapped under rubble in Gaza. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed.
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said that the Hamas attack on Israel did not take place in vacuum. Rather, it was a reaction to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.
In a statement released on October 24, Guterres said, “The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” adding that it was a result of the Palestinian people being subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation by Israel.
According to the UN chief, during this period Palestinians saw their land devoured by Israeli settlements, their economy stifled, their homes demolished, and their hopes for a political solution vanishing.
Israel Palestine War
Israel has illegally occupied large swathes of Palestinian territories such as the West Bank and Gaza. With its formidable military power, Israel is persecuting people – mostly Muslims – in the occupied Palestinian areas.
The Palestinian political and military group Hamas which leads the Islamic resistance movement wants liberation of Palestine from Israeli occupation. With its headquarters in Gaza City and presence in the West Bank, Hamas runs a majority government in the Gaza Strip.
Therefore, contrary to the false propaganda, Hamas is not a terrorist group, as it has its political and military wings. Like any other army of a nation, with a strength of 30,000 soldiers, Hamas army protects Gaza civilians from constant attacks by Israeli forces. Only some Islamophobic groups call Hamas a terror organization.
As Hamas is leading an armed freedom struggle for the Palestinians, it can be compared to the Indian National Army (or the Azad Hind Fauj) armed force formed by Indian Nationalists in 1942 to secure independence for India.
To counter the brutality of the Israeli army which is illegally expanding its operations in Gaza, Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostage.
In retaliatory air strikes, Israel killed more than 4,000 people – mostly civilians in Gaza. Now, Israel is threatening to begin a ground offensive in Gaza in which thousands of Gazans are expected to be killed.
On October 17, Palestinian officials said that nearly 500 people were killed by an explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City. The attack was allegedly carried out by Israel, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the allegation.
Most western nations led by the U.S. are blindly supporting Israel despite the fact that Israeli prime minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu – who is facing a deep political crisis – is responsible for escalation of violence in Gaza and Israel.
PM Netanyahu – who is facing a serious corruption case – may be dethroned and jailed if he is not in power. So, Netanyahu wants to stay in power by hook or by crook. If he continues war with Hamas, his corruption trial will get delayed and he will not be convicted. It is part of Netanyahu’s evil strategy that he is attacking Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
In order to support the freedom struggle of Hamas and Palestine, on October 20, Iran called on the Muslim world of more than 2 billion Muslims to unite against Israel.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that after 13 days of war, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 3,785, including at least 1,524 children, while over 12,000 have been injured.
Quoting official Israeli sources, OCHA reveals that since October 7, 1,400 people have been killed in Israel and over 4,600 injured while at least 203 people are held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals, as per Israeli estimations.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Hamas to release the hostages immediately and unconditionally, and the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has stressed that the taking of hostages is prohibited by international law.
Reports suggest that on October 21 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for nearly 2 million people in the war-torn Gaza started passing into the Rafah border crossing from Egypt.
In his remarks at the Cairo Summit for Peace on October 21, Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for sustained humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza and for Hamas to free all hostages.
