The Atrocities of Gaza

Up until the very last moment of the war, Israel vigorously drove its troops further into the destroyed Gaza City while dramatically increasing its attacks on Palestinian civilians. In just 22 days, Israeli troops took the lives of over 1300 innocent civilians in the Gaza strip, injured over 5000 people (compared to the mere 13 Israelis that were killed), and destroyed more than 22,000 buildings in the area.

The number of casualties from this war are immense, but an Israeli senior Defense Force officer claims that the attacks were never meant to be aimed at the Palestinian civilians. The attacks were “an operation of self-defense against Hamas” and that “this task was made extremely difficult by Hamas, as they made the choice to use civilians as human shields.” The Israeli officer continued to say that Israel began the offensive in response to rocket fire by Hamas militants and that the goal of the operation was “to improve the security situation in southern Israel and to facilitate peaceful living for the Israeli civilians living there.”

Although Israel is attempting to justify its attacks on Gaza civilians as “self-defense against Hamas”, it has been said that the attacks on Gaza was long planned and that Israel’s military strategy in Gaza (referred to as the “final act” by Israeli officials) followed a blueprint laid down during the Lebanon war that took place more than two years ago.

Even though both sides declared a cease fire, Palestinians in Gaza are still suffering due to the 18-month Israeli blockade that has devastated the Palestinian economy and has caused the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza to be completely dependent on humanitarian aid. Supplies and energy sources are running out and nearly 80 percent of crops in Gaza have been destroyed. Hospitals aren’t going to be able to handle the situation much longer. With every minute, the death toll rises along with the number of the wounded. Gaza is in desperate need of humanitarian, economic, sanitary, and social help as a result of the Israeli attacks.

Even though the attacks have been halted for the time being, Gabriel Kolko raises important questions about the war in Gaza City:

How will history describe the Israeli war against the Palestinians in Gaza? Another Holocaust, this time perpetrated by the descendants of the victims? An election ploy by ambitious Israeli politicians to win votes in the February 10 elections? A test range for new American weapons? Or an effort to lock in the new Obama Administration into an anti-Iranian position? An attempt to establish its military “credibility” after its disastrous defeat in the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006? Perhaps all of these…and more.