It is the young children and the old who suffer the most, are the most vulnerable to disease, to dehydration, to a sparse diet and all the consequences of a siege. The BBC has a heart-rending photo of a young mother grieving over her toddler who has just died ... yet another casualty of the Gaza war.
Such
are the expected consequences of military conflict. A ceasefire plan
has been proposed and Hamas is apparently mulling over it. They have
lost much owing to the massive Israeli response to their attack killing
1200 Israelis. But Palestinian civilians have paid dearly. According
to the latest figures -- more than 30,000 have lost their lives, and
plans are afoot to move a large number of them across the Egyptian
border to shelters. That is because large areas of Gaza have been
leveled destroying living places and spaces.
What
is the reconstruction of Gaza going to cost, and who will be paying for
it? Israel is the immediate culprit but the Palestinians started this
one.
Should the UN be revamped and given more clout? Even if the UN did have a military force, attacking, bombing or cordoning off Israel is hardly the answer. Most Israelis do not support Bibi Netanyahu anyway, and surely Israeli civilians should not have to become victims as well.
Perhaps
the man with the most power to stop this might have something to say.
His vice-president Kamala Harris has met Benny Gantz, in Washington. Gantz
is Israel's opposition leader and at present also a member of
Netanyahu's unified war cabinet He came despite Netanyahu's objections
to his visit. According to Harris, "far too many Palestinian civilians
have been killed. We need to get more aid in, we need to get hostages
out, and that remains our position."
Polls
in Israel show that Gantz, a former military chief of staff and
centrist, would win if an election were to be held today. Netanhyahu
has certainly suffered a precipitous drop in popularity.
That it is easier to start a war than end it -- has been known since the possibly apocryphal 10-year long Trojan war. In modern times, the assassination of an Austrian archduke and heir by a Serbian nationalist, served as a pretext to start the First World War. The real reason being a newly industrialized Germany's need for export markets. It would take a second world war before the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was created and signed by 28 nations in 1947.
So
where do all these lessons lead us in the context of Gaza? A wildly
unpopular war, Netayahu wants to end it. For Hamas, the 30,000 deaths
and the wanton destruction of Gaza has been a sobering price to pay.
Hence, their probable internal discussions and delay in assenting to the
US-backed peace proposal. They also have to carefully calibrate the
release of hostages for maximum benefit. After all, they represent
their most valuable bargaining chips.
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