ISRAEL imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip Monday and cut off the water supply as it kept bombing targets in the crowded Palestinian enclave in response to the Hamas surprise assault it has likened to the 9/11 attacks. The action prompted a remark from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying the humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before now it will only deteriorate exponentially.
It is shocking how the Jewish State is treating 23 million people living in Gaza, who were already facing untold miseries due to continuous blockade for years and now relentless bombing of their homes, properties and infrastructure. As saner members of the international community are urging both sides to exercise restraint and contain the hostilities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had the audacity to threaten that “what Hamas will experience will be difficult and terrible … We are going to change the Middle East.” He has apparently adopted the US theme of re-drawing the map of the Middle-East, a strategy that miserably failed and is blamed to be one of the main reasons for deterioration of the situation in the region. It is quite evident that encouraged by the support it has been receiving from the United States and some other western countries, Israel rejected all reasonable proposals and formulas that could have contributed towards permanent settlement of the conflict, ensuring durable peace in the region and now it is using Hamas attack as excuse to eliminate 23 million people and destroy Gaza Strip as part of its expansionist plans. Palestinians are being killed in non-stop carpet bombing of their territory, finding it difficult to bury their dead and now the air and ground siege means starvation as well. One can imagine their plight when the entire length of the fence across the border with Gaza is covered with tanks and air coverage. To add to the misery of the besieged population, some countries have stopped aid for Palestinians in a bid to please the state, which is guilty of crimes against humanity. The UN Secretary-General has issued a timely warning but is it enough to watch the situation silently in the face of a real threat of collective starvation? Attempts being made for swapping of prisoners by some countries at the instance of Israel and its backers should be linked to lifting of the inhuman siege.
