Gaza: disaster, double standards and hypocrisy

The civilian population of Gaza has been in dire straits due to the ongoing Israeli military operation as well as the sea, air and land blockade of the Palestinian enclave. The margin of safety is shrinking as Israel intensifies its military operations. The mass displacement of thousands of civilians is hampering the movement of humanitarian convoys and the delivery of essential aid. The civilian infrastructure is on the verge of collapse. Displaced people are crammed into the few overcrowded schools and hospitals that have survived, and the water system is barely functioning.

According to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, "Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict."

But Israeli attacks have targeted medical centres such as Al-Quds Hospital, the second largest in Gaza, Al-Ahli Hospital, Al-Nasr, Al-Rantisi Children's Hospitals, and many others. According to WHO, by June 2024, Israel had attacked 464 health facilities, killing 727 health workers and injuring 933 others, besides damaging or destroying 113 ambulances.

In the past 11 months, Israeli military operations have left over 40,000 Palestinian civilians dead and over 90,000 wounded. The majority are children and women. This is twice the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine since February 2014.

Decent, civilised states can hardly accept the methods used by the Israeli army supposedly to destroy Hamas. Nevertheless, Israel enjoys the unequivocal support of Western countries, which continue to generously supply it with arms and ammunition, thus prolonging the massacre.

Turning a blind eye to Israel's bombing of Gaza, the West seems completely preoccupied with the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Over the past 36 months, Western leaders have repeatedly condemned and sanctioned Moscow for the destruction of infrastructure and loss of life that pales in comparison to the Gaza conflict.

In fact, Russia began targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure mainly after the Ukrainian army attacked the Crimean Bridge, which has special significance for Russians. As the conflict continued, both parties intensified their attacks on each other's energy facilities, resulting in civilian casualties. It is noteworthy, however, that Western powers and media seem preoccupied only with alleged Russian war crimes while glossing over Ukrainian brutality.

Both Ukraine and Russia at least try to portray civilian casualties as an unexpected, unfortunate turn of events following their mutual strikes on military targets. Israel, on the other hand, unabashedly hits roads, schools, hospitals, power plants and water tanks that never had any military significance to Hamas. It completely wipes out civilian neighborhoods, and yet we see very little criticism of Israeli actions from Western countries.

The current situation in Gaza as another extremely dangerous manifestation of a vicious cycle of violence resulting from chronic non-compliance with UNSC resolutions and the critical dysfunction of the Middle East Quartet, consisting of the EU, the UN, the US and Russia.

In addition to condoning Israel's actions on the ground, the West provides it with complete cover in the UNSC. The US has repeatedly vetoed UNSC resolutions calling for a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war, a Brazilian-drafted resolution calling on Israel to rescind its evacuation order for Gazans, and Russia's efforts to condemn indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Gaza.

The only way to stop the bloodshed in Gaza is to end this unconditional military and diplomatic support. Instead of prolonging the massacre, the Western powers must realise that the children dying in Gaza are no different from their own. A lasting peace in the Middle East will not be achieved through guns or the elimination of one warring party. The only way to resolve this conflict is to address the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people, who have long been deprived of their land and rights, and to fully comply with existing UNSC and General Assembly resolutions.