Karol Balfe: We need to restore our humanity - and end the madness in Gaza
Palestinians walk about buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Picture: Hatem Moussa/AP
To Gazans, it must feel like the world has abandoned them. In many ways, it already had.
80% of Gazans were already dependent on humanitarian aid and living under siege before the current hostilities. Poverty was crippling, and the UN had warned that the enclave was headed to inhabitability.
Since the horrendous and violent attacks in Israel on October 7th, and the taking of hostages, things have gone from bad to worse to unimaginable for the people of Gaza who are living through daily terror.
The response by Israel has been disproportionate, brutal and has brought the suffering of people in Gaza to inhuman levels that are difficult to comprehend. The trauma innocent men, women and children are living through has increased to entirely unacceptable levels as the intensity of bombing and shelling soars, and the ground invasion begins. Vital supplies are running out and for the first time in Gaza hunger, dehydration and starvation are occurring.
Imagine the trauma of intense daily bombing, death and destruction - and not being able to keep your child safe, warm, clean or fed. You know they won’t get an anaesthetic for any treatment they may need for a life-threatening injury.
Imagine being one of the 50,000 women currently pregnant in Gaza, trying to give birth in appalling conditions. If you or your baby survive you will struggle to produce milk to feed your infant and keep them alive due to lack of water. Imagine the weight of bringing a child into the world with bombs raining down on you.
Hospitals, schools and UN shelters have been destroyed. Since 11 October, Gaza has been under a full electricity blackout, rendering hospitals and water facilities dependent on backup generators run by fuel. Since October 20th, ten bakeries have been struck and destroyed and three have been forced to shut due to lack of fuel. Without fuel – the suffering increases even more.
Telecommunications are slowly being restored after a full blackout over the weekend. Cutting off phones and internet deepens the trauma Gaza’s citizens are already living through, and cuts off their voice to the outside world. It makes them isolated, and the work of medics and ambulances almost impossible.
Nowhere is safe in Gaza, there is nowhere to hide. With no ceasefire, an ongoing siege and the beginning of the ground offensive, there is no guarantee for the safety of millions of people. All of this is happening in plain sight of the world, and all of this was entirely avoidable.
From the perspective of Gazans, they see some of the world’s most influential leaders struggling to call for a ceasefire, providing military aid to Israel and therefore endorsing the worst forms of violence against civilians. Facing desperate hunger and pain, they see many asking whether aid or fuel goes to Hamas, and therefore questioning if it should go in at all. They see some world leaders questioning the numbers killed.
Whilst there has been intense diplomacy, it means little without an immediate and urgent ceasefire and access to desperately needed aid. If world leaders continue as they are, where will this leave the people of Gaza? Where will it leave its one million children? If the bombs don’t kill them, hunger and thirst will. All Israeli civilian hostages held in Gaza should be released. The disproportionate and bloody bombardment of Gaza must stop.
Ultimately violence will not bring peace for Israelis or Palestinians. There is an urgent need to address the root causes of the present crisis. The United Nations Secretary General merely stated facts when he said that October 7th did not happen in a vacuum. This is essential to state. It does not in any way condone or excuse the brutal violence against Israelis civilians.
The root causes of the current situation lie in the military occupation, oppression, and fragmentation of the Palestinian territory by the Israeli State and the brutal repression of the Palestinian people over several decades.
Illegal Israeli settlements de facto annexing large parts of the West Bank continue unabated, despite several UN Security Council resolutions. The daily lives of Palestinian people are monitored from military watchtowers and their movements curtailed by checkpoints – even affecting children who are simply walking to school.
Ireland has been strong in its call for the respect of international humanitarian law. But it must do more. We should continue to engage as strongly as possible with other major powers that have not been as strong – particularly the EU and US.
The EU needs to uphold its own longstanding values to prioritise human rights and ensure equal treatment of all parties and compliance with international law.
The US has considerable influence on Israel, and the implications of its failure to attempt to stop this disproportionate assault on Gaza are felt across the globe, but most acutely and painfully in Gaza.
There may have been some solace for Gazans to see the hundreds of thousands across the globe who marched to say “no” to this violence at the weekend. But what they really need is those in power taking the urgent and needed actions to end this violence.
It is too late for the almost 8,000 killed to date. In both language and action, Palestinians are being dehumanized and killed. We need to restore our humanity and end this madness.
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