Crisis in Gaza
(photo by Janne Leimola on Unsplash)
The current war on Hamas has just reached its hundredth day and things have only gotten progressively worse. Netanyahu was wildly unpopular within Israel before this started, with thousands of protesters marching in the streets calling out his attempt to gain veto powers over his own judicial system. I have even wondered if he might have somehow orchestrated or turned a blind eye to the October 7th invasion to draw attention away from his failing popularity and unite the Israeli people behind him in their hatred for Hamas.
Now, as we have witnessed unprecedented destruction carried out against the Palestinians, who are sitting ducks with no escape route, the calls to end this war are growing louder by the minute. To me, the ultimate irony is that this country, built on the back of a genocide, is now being sued in the International Court for committing genocide. Even though my father was a Holocaust survivor, I’m finding it very difficult to side with Israel. They are even putting their own hostages in danger by blowing up everything in sight. Nothing they are doing seems tactical; it all just looks like wanton cruelty.
This back-and-forth war has been smoldering for almost a century now and the world is getting tired of it. Every other western country is calling for a ceasefire and pleading for a two-state solution where Palestine becomes its own nation. Perhaps, once Netanyahu is replaced, there will be some movement in this direction.
In the meantime, the possibility of escalation to a wider war is extremely scary to me. Some of the surrounding Arab countries are champing at the bit to back the Palestinian cause. Lebanon and Iran are at the top of this list. The possibility of WWIII erupting seems all too real to me, as it would take multiple western nations to combat any wider Middle Eastern conflict. I am hoping that Israel will start heeding the warning to stand down and start negotiating.
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