In a brief shining moment, Gaza’s inspiration: Palestinians protest against Hamas.
When I travelled through Israel and the West Bank – Gaza usually does not allow foreign journalists – the protests seem to capture the hope of change, undermine the deadlock, the way forward. But Hamas seems to have partially rejected the brave protests through torture and murder.
Despite talking about the ceasefire proposal, the two sides still seem to be far apart in any agreement to make the war permanent, so I fear we must prepare for more killings. Israel announced on Wednesday that it would expand its military offensive in Gaza, including plans to seize the “big area.”
The Gaza people are in trouble between the irreconcilable demands of the two political parties and the Israeli government, both of which show cruel indifference to Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages – in the case of Israel, in the case of Israel, with the assistance of the United States’ weapons.
According to the United Nations, the highest proportion of child amputees in Gaza today, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke the initial ceasefire, a problem that most Israelis and Palestinians seem to agree against public sentiment: the war should end.
Unless there are huge breakthroughs (such as removing Hamas or Netanyahu), the war may expand.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak told me: “Israel appears to expand its operations. Barak warned that Israel may reoccupy Gaza and stay there for a long time, making a “major historical mistake.”
The United States has no effect on Hamas, but we provide the 200-pound bombs Netanyahu has adopted to turn buildings and people into dust, which makes us conducive to forcing the end of this war. We don't use it.
Therefore, the U.S. bomb will create more WCNSF, a common abbreviation for Gaza hospitals that “injured children, no surviving families”.
Dr. Sam Attar, an American surgeon and professor at Northwestern University School of Medicine, has completed five medical tasks since the beginning of the war. He told me about the children he treated: a teenager burned more than half of his body and died from a blood bank because the blood bank ran out of blood; a 10-year-old girl buried in rubble for 12 hours next to her dead parents. A 13-year-old boy with a burnt face has been asking for dead parents and sisters.
“In every war, it is these psychological scars of fear and anger that cost more generations of lives and livelihoods,” said Dr. Atal. “We can amputate our arms and legs to save lives. How do you heal a soul with a scar? How do you heal a child who was buried alive next to her dead parents?”
In the past few weeks, Israel has blocked Gaza again, amplifying the suffering of civilians, presumably hostages.
“All entrances to Gaza have been closed since early March,” said Tom Fletcher, head of humanitarianism at the United Nations. “At the border, food rots, drugs expire, and is trapped in vital medical equipment.”
How does the United States deal with this unnecessary suffering in Gaza, which UNICEF describes as “the most dangerous place in the world”? President Trump handed over another 1,800 of the 2,000-pound bomb to Israel and suggested that Gaza, Gaza, be cleared, constitute ethnic cleansing.
It is understandable that the Israelis were traumatized by the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, which is the basis of the per capita attack and is equivalent to the September 11 attack. However, in this way, people in Gaza suffered more than 2,200 times on September 11.
What did all these explosions achieve? Hamas' combat capability has deteriorated severely and Israel has reestablished its deterrence. But Israel did not achieve the two basic goals of its war: to restore all hostages and destroy Hamas. Indeed, the United States assessed that Hamas recruited almost as many militants as it had lost.
However, the war achieved one thing: it kept Netanyahu in office. Although 69% of Israelis say they want him to reach a deal to take all hostages and end the war. In Gaza, Hamas is equally focused on maintaining power rather than the well-being of the Palestinians.
Both Netanyahu and Hamas seem to be ready to fight the last Palestinian and the last Israeli hostages.
Before the war began, I visited Gaza regularly and saw how repressive, misogynistic, gay and incompetent Hamas were – and how many gazans were tired of its misdiagnosis – so I was surprised to see some on the left hug it with the Palestinian champion.
Instead, according to the region's Ministry of Health, the hearts of 1,200 Israelis murdered in the Hamas terrorist attacks are often joined by 50,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister Katz warned that Gaza may face a “gate of hell”, which seems to be correct. If Hamas does not release the hostages, he also threatens to annex part of Gaza. Is this really the reason why the United States should provide weapons to them?
About 280 UN workers have died in Gaza, and more than 150 journalists are also present. The United Nations reported this week that it had recovered the bodies of 15 rescuers from ambulances, a fire truck and UN vehicles. They were killed while trying to assist the injured.
Is this war the best use of American weapons?
The honor for Israel is that some civil society groups and leading security figures have shown great courage in condemning their country’s Gaza policy. Former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has repeatedly warned that Israel is committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Ami Ayalon, former director of Shin BET intelligence agency, protested Israel's Gaza policy “immoral and unjust”.
As far as I am concerned, I don't think Hamas is morally equivalent to Israel. But I absolutely think of the moral equivalent between Israeli children, Palestinian children and American children. I'm worried that Netanyahu will hire American ammunition to take the lives of thousands of children based on political calculations.
All these lives will be lost, all these children will be ruined, why?
