Before the devastation in Iranthere were the wastelands of Gaza. Before the razed villages in the southern Lebanondozens of Gazan cities suffered the same fate. In the Fringe of Gaza, the sea of rubble has not receded. On the contrary, it continues to shake, expand. With the borders firmly closed, despite very few exceptions, the Gazan people languish in silence. “Since the entry into force of cease-fire in October, there has been an active effort to Gaza disappear from the headlines, from government reports, from everyone’s agenda, but, since the start of the war in Iran, this deliberate disappearance has increased exponentially,” states Mohammad ShehadaGazan analyst and writer.
While silence suffocates a people beaten a thousand times, the reality on the ground changes. The Israeli Army has established a new border line that doesn’t stop moving forward. The Yellow Line that divides Gazan territory occupied by Israel from that controlled by Hamas born to die, like a time limit that was to disappear with the withdrawal of Israeli troops. But the 32 outposts and the 16 kilometers Recently installed ground barrier barriers indicate that the Yellow Line is here to stay. Added to this engineering project is that Israel has killed more than 220 Gazans nearby. “The Yellow Line is elasticexpands from one day to the next, while the soldiers consolidate their presence there with permanent military posts,” Shehada tells EL PERIÓDICO.
Rafah closure
The outbreak of the Israeli-American war against Iran shook the silence that flew over Gaza with the roar caused by the abrupt closing of a door. The day after the start of the joint offensive, the Israeli authorities decided close the Rafah border crossing on the border with Egypt. At that point, the insufficient humanitarian aid that the Gazan people so desperately need. The blockade, once again, caused chaos in Gaza. “We take several precautions: we stocked up flour and basic foodstuffs to prepare for a possible escalation of the conflict,” he says. Lara Eljamalya young pharmacist from Gaza City, to this newspaper. For now, the Palestinian enclave has not been the target of more violence than usual.
“A ceasefire that has been violated more than 2,000 times is basically a show, a façade, anything but a real ceasefire”
Since the ceasefire came into force in October, shelling has continued to a lesser extent, but still causing deaths, injuries and destruction. Almost 700 Palestinians have died and some 1,800 have been injured in this half year. “Israel has violated the truce more than 2,000 times“says Shehada. “A ceasefire that has been violated more than 2,000 times is basically a show, a façade, anything but a real ceasefire,” he points out. Before Iran, and four months later than promised, Gaza was awaiting the entry of the technocratic committee who had to govern the enclave. They are still waiting. “Instead, Israel used the confusion of the war with Iran to impose on Hamas and surrender mandateas a prerequisite for any Israeli withdrawal,” adds Shehada.
Without humanitarian aid
Israel has also taken advantage of the fact that the world is looking towards Iran to tighten the noose around the necks of the Gazans. “Dramatically reduced the flow of humanitarian aid, food, water, medicine, goods and fuel to Gaza, which represents a decrease of between 75% and 80%,” explains Shehada. “There has also been an increase number of Israeli bombingsas well as the demolition work“, he points out. Although Rafah has been partially reopened, Eljamaly notes, from the heart of the Palestinian enclave, that “the humanitarian situation has worsened“This young Gazan put aside her career as a pharmacist due to the war and now dedicates her time to helping almost a hundred orphaned children through the organization she created. Light for Orphans. “Commercial products have also become more expensive and that has caused another price increase“, he laments.
“At the beginning of the war, when the border crossings were closed, many merchants withdrew food, meat and chicken from the markets, which caused shortage“, he recalls. “Now, after the reopening of the border crossings, food is available again, but the prices are still extremely high“, says Eljamaly. These Israeli actions have once again raised alarm bells about the risk of a new famine. “Israel is taking advantage of the attention of the international community focused on the war that it and the United States have launched against Iran to intensify the blockade of the Strip and continue using the hunger in a way that aggravates the humanitarian catastrophe and reinforces the destructive impact of the ongoing genocide against the civilian population,” denounces the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitorbased in Geneva.
“Now, after the reopening of border crossings, food is available again, but prices are still extremely high”
According to this monitor, the real number of trucks with humanitarian aid and commercial goods entering Gaza does not reach the 41% of the total agreedwhich had to exceed 600 daily. “He has only allowed the entry of 14.8% of the agreed amount of fuelcausing serious disruption to vital sectors, including hospitals, water and sanitation networks, relief services and transportation,” adds this organization. The closure of Rafah has slowed down medical evacuations. More than 18,000 patientsamong them some 4,000 children, have been waiting for months to leave their land in the hope of securing a future. Any delay can mean a slow and painful deterioration of health, but a death warrant. “Many patients in Gaza die every day because they are denied access to medical treatment abroad,” says Eljamaly.
A new war?
“There is a increased likelihood of Israel resuming military operations in Gazajudging by the current situation, but the question is: would it allow [el presidente estadounidense Donald] Trump that Israel would open another front?”, says Shehada. For this Gazan analyst and writer, the “complete obsession with Iran“of the Republican president would make it easier for the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu return large-scale violence against the Palestinian enclave. “It would be enough invent a pretext so that the military operations of this genocidal campaign could immediately resume in full force,” he suggests. In times of truce, the Gazan population continues to plunge into the abyss, but this time it does so in silence. The avenues of the main foreign capitals are no longer filled with claims in favor of Gazans. Televisions program Trump’s most recent statements.
Neither the deaths, nor the hunger, nor the destruction in Gaza make headlines. “This deliberate disappearance of Gaza, the idea that this is becoming the new normal It is dangerous because radicalizes the Gazan population“says Shehada. “The further the world moves away from Gaza, the more Gaza disappears, the more it becomes clear that this unsustainable situation is becoming the new normal, the more Israel violates the ceasefire, the more people think: ‘we have nothing to lose; Let’s try to change this unsustainable status quo.’ There are people within Hamas who defend the growing need to shake up the current situation, to destabilize and confront Israeli aggression, otherwise Gaza will continue to disappear completely and being relegated to the past“he concludes.
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