World leaders soon warned that the Israelis were creating an "Untenable" humanitarian crisis in Gaza, while a European Union official condemned Israel's "Indiscriminate attack on civilians." In response to American and international pressure, Israel partially restored the strip's water supply.
What does the civilized world want Israel to do? Since the attack, Israel has launched thousands of air raids on Gaza, destroying key elements of Hamas military infrastructure.
Israel's air power is far superior to Hamas's, but Israel does not desire, and would not benefit from, a protracted rocket war.
Israel left Gaza in 2005, and Hamas took over the strip from the Palestinian Authority through a violent coup in 2007.
In the years since, Hamas has instigated conflicts with Israel in 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021, launching intermittent rocket strikes to terrorize Israeli citizens in-between.
Regional actors such as Egypt and superpowers like China have argued that Israel's approach has shifted from one of self-defense to one of "Collective punishment." Human Rights Watch claims Israel's response, and the sheer number of resulting Gazan casualties, will likely by itself constitute a war crime.
Absent a popular Gazan uprising against Hamas, Israel won't be able to uproot the threat against it without incurring significant civilian casualties.
No comments:
Post a Comment