October 7, 2023, 6:30 a.m. Israeli time. The commander of the Palestinian nationalist armed group Hamas, Mohammed Deif, announced reports of coordinated rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups and ground attacks crossing border defenses. 7 thousand members of Palestinian armed groups including Hamas participated in this attack. Hamas called the attack Operation Al-Aqsa. And Israel called the attack Black Sabbath. 1,139 people were killed in the first attack, of which 695 were civilians. Hamas takes 250 Israeli hostages. Internationally known on October 7, today marks one year of the Hamas-Israeli war. But no effort to stop this inhumane war or cease-fire has been successful, instead this war has now reached Lebanon.
Mohammad Deif referred to long-accumulated resentment against Israel as the background to the war in his announcement; Such as: continued occupation and expansion of Palestinian lands, 16-year blockade of Gaza, occupation of Palestinian property and destruction of homes, arbitrary detention of Palestinians, violence centered on Al-Aqsa Mosque and violence by the Israeli occupier. He said, with the support of the West, Israel has been continuously violating international laws and agreements. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh (killed on July 31 this year) made a similar statement in a TV address.
In addition to the aforementioned lingering anger, the October 7 (2023) attack had a special context, focusing on tensions between Israel and Hamas following the September 13 killing of five Palestinian civilians by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). However, the beginning of this anger of the Palestinians is long 75 years ago since 1947, when the United Nations passed the proposal (Resolution 181) to divide the Palestinian territory into two independent states, i.e. Palestine and Israel. Although the Palestinians did not accept the proposal, Israel declared an independent state in 1948. And instead of recognizing the right of its own land and an independent state, Palestine has had to engage in a long struggle for survival and has had to be repeatedly expelled from its territory. As a result, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed in 1964. But torture, eviction and displacement continue. In 1967, in just 6 days (June 5-10) Arab-Israeli war, Israel occupied the historic West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem and displaced more than 3 million Palestinians. Under the 1993 peace accords between Israeli President Isaac Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat, both recognized the two states of Israel and Palestine. Note that because of this agreement, Isaac Rabin and Yasser Arafat jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In protest of the Israeli attack on Gaza, the Lebanese-based organization Hezbollah got involved in this war by launching rocket attacks on Israel. Note that both Hamas and Hezbollah are powerful armed groups supported by Iran. Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrullah was killed in Iran on September 27. In response, Iran launched a rocket attack on Israel. On the other hand, Israel retaliated in Lebanon. A leader of Hezbollah said that Israel has carried out massacres in Lebanon. No house was spared from their onslaught. They targeted civilians, ambulances, children and the elderly. According to the data of the Ministry of Health of Lebanon, two thousand were killed and more than five thousand injured in the Israeli aggression on the Lebanese border. The Kremlin claims that the bombing of densely populated areas in Lebanon is causing a large number of casualties. Another humanitarian crisis like Gaza could develop in Lebanon. According to UNHCR, 1 million people have been displaced by the Israeli attack on Lebanon, of which 100,000 Lebanese have taken refuge in Syria. Aymen, a Lebanese refugee, said that the future of Lebanon is only in the hands of God.
Israel is not flouting any laws or commitments in conducting the ongoing war. Indiscriminate attacks on civilians and installations continue. Incidentally, on July 28, in the Israel-Hamas war, 'How much more will humanity be neglected?' In the article titled International Humanitarian Law of War (IHL) i.e. The Hague Convention and the Geneva Convention, the Geneva Convention (1949) is a commitment to the treatment of casualties, prisoners of war and civilian persons and installations in war or international conflict and the Hague Convention (1907) is Instruction in methods, means and weapons used to strike the enemy in battle. But there is no reflection of these in reality. Israel is attacking civilian structures including ambulances, mosques, churches, cultural centers, historical sites, schools and homes. But according to the Geneva Convention, the signatory countries are committed to provide protection of cultural property and heritage, religious centers/places of worship, hospitals, vehicles of medical units of armed forces, ambulances, Red Cross installations etc. during wartime. In addition, the belligerent states that signed the convention committed themselves to certain things; Eg: Ensuring service and safety of wounded soldiers. In addition, the belligerent will be obliged to provide uninterrupted transportation of medicines, water, food and clothing to the belligerent country. It is the responsibility of all concerned to ensure the security of neutral establishments and safe zones declared by belligerent states in a state of war.
According to UNRWA, the total number of Palestinian refugees and displaced persons in Gaza is 90 percent of the population (19 million). Most of them have moved more than once. Meanwhile, refugees are not safe even in refugee camps. Because the IDF is often forcing them to relocate, which is a clear violation of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. As the first message or commitment of the Convention is, refugees cannot be expelled from their places of refuge.
The number of dead in one year of Gaza war is 42 thousand. And the number of injured is about to reach one lakh. The majority of those killed in Gaza have been civilians, including civilians, humanitarian workers, doctors, media workers, and volunteers. The year-long war has already created a humanitarian crisis. According to UNICEF, 15,000 of the dead in Gaza were children. And 90 percent of surviving children suffer from malnutrition. The New York Times headline of 17 August was 'No Childhood in Gaza'. Needless to say, this situation is going to be more pronounced with Israel's invasion of Lebanon.
In July this year, an international statistic said that 137,297 buildings were damaged in the Gaza war, which is half of the total buildings in Gaza. 50,000 bombs were dropped on Gaza, of which 2 to 3,000 did not explode. In May, the UNDP reported that removing the rubble from Gaza would take 15 years, rebuilding would take until 2040 and cost between $40 billion and $50 billion.
On June 19, an investigation report of the United Nations Human Rights Council said that Israel committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the attack on Gaza. The council chairperson said Israel has forced almost the entire population of Gaza into small enclaves, which are unsafe and uninhabitable. In view of these, Israel's behavior is a violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Genocide is defined in the Convention as an act committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, an ethnic or religious group. It should be noted that on January 11 this year, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICJ) accusing it of genocide, incitement to genocide and attempted genocide. The case states that Israel is clearly in violation of the Genocide Convention. On January 26, the ICJ commented that Israel's presence in the Palestinian territories is illegal. Although the ICJ did not order an immediate cessation of hostilities, it issued six rulings, the first of which was that Israel would be bound by Article 2 of the 1948 Genocide Convention. According to this section no one can be killed again.
Even after a year of the ongoing war, no effective initiative to end it is visible. Rather, the issue is limited to the discussion table. A cease-fire proposal was brought to the UN Security Council several times, but it was not passed due to the US veto. The topic is also being discussed in the UN General Assembly meeting. Although the US President talks about world peace in various forums, including the welcome speech at the General Assembly, he always supports Israel, saying that Israel has the right to defend itself and the United States will stand by Israel. The Chief Advisor of Bangladesh called for an immediate end to the Israel-Hamas war in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, saying that this war is not devastating for any particular religion, but it is devastating for the entire mankind. Turkish President Erdogan compared the Israeli prime minister to Hitler, saying Netanyahu is trying to push the region to war for his political interests. He criticized the role of the United Nations and called for an immediate permanent ceasefire. The General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories within a year. Past experience suggests that Israel will not implement this proposal. Still, the proposal will put Israel under some diplomatic pressure.
Addressing the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General criticized the attacks on civilians and installations in Lebanon and said Lebanon cannot be another Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel rejected the cease-fire proposal in Lebanon brought to the United Nations by 12 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and ordered to continue the border conflict with Lebanon.
Hundreds of thousands of people have protested at various times in Israel itself against the invasion of Gaza; But nothing can stop Israel from this attack. Instead, the attacks spread to Lebanon. Humanity was neglected from the start of the Gaza war, as in any war of the past. Now it is rolling towards Lebanon. It is feared that if this war spreads to other neighboring countries in the Middle East, the ongoing humanitarian crisis will become more pronounced. Therefore, there is no alternative to taking regional and global initiatives now for a ceasefire or a cessation of hostilities. And until then, effective monitoring is needed to ensure that humanity is not neglected any more, in compliance with all international laws and commitments.
MA Halim: Former Director, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society; Columnist on disaster, climate and humanitarian issues
