Six months since the Hamas armed group invaded southern Israel in a killing spree, Israel’s ground campaign to exterminate the movement has turned much of the Gaza Strip into a wasteland with an ongoing humanitarian disaster.
Mediators have been trying to organize the first extended ceasefire to provide immediate aid to feed the 2.3 million people in the Palestinian territories and secure the release of several Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas.
The following are the issues arising from the war and the prospects for peace.
HOW DID THE WAR START?
On October 7, hundreds of armed men crossed a border fence that Israel believes to be impenetrable, and stormed the community, shooting dead Israelis in their homes, cars, and at an all-night music festival. Israel says 1,200 people were killed in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The attackers took 253 hostages, including entire families with small children, back to Gaza. Although military bases were attacked, most of the dead were civilians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge.
WHAT HAPPENS IN GAZA?
Israel’s ground offensive began in the northern half of the Gaza Strip and hundreds of thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate and flee south. After a week-long ceasefire in late November, Israeli forces turned their attention south, once again ordering people to flee.
Since February, Israeli troops have patrolled almost all of Gaza, except for a small area in the center and the city of Rafah on the southern bank, where more than half of Gaza’s population is now sheltered.
Gaza health authorities said about 33,000 Palestinians were confirmed dead, about 40 percent of them children, and the bodies of thousands more were lost under the rubble and have not been found. More than 70,000 people were injured, which means about 5 percent of the population was killed or injured, not including deaths due to starvation, unsanitary conditions and malfunctioning health services.
Israel says it has killed more than 13,000 Hamas fighters, and blames the militants for civilian losses by operating among them, including from a network of underground bunkers and tunnels. Hamas denies its fighters operate among civilians.
WILL HELP GET TO GAZA?
At the start of the war, Israel imposed a total blockade. Gradually they allowed in aid, first through pedestrian checkpoints from Egypt, then also through nearby highway checkpoints from Israel itself.
Israel says it is not limiting food and humanitarian supplies, but aid agencies and donor countries say cumbersome Israeli inspections mean deliveries can be delayed for weeks, and only a fraction of the 500 trucks a day that Gaza relies on can get through. Supplies crossing over were difficult to distribute or transport due to lawlessness with dismantled civil authorities.
Israel said it was now opening additional land checkpoints and allowing air drops and sea deliveries. However, Gaza does not have a proper port, and aid agencies say the air discharge is small-scale and dangerous. The land route to northern Gaza, which is in the worst condition, is still not available.
IS GAZA EXPERIENCED Famine?
Almost. Famine has three stages – severe food shortages, leading to widespread malnutrition, and ultimately mass death from starvation and disease. The global hunger monitor conducted by the Integrated Food-security Phase Classification (IPC) said Gaza had exceeded the first two criteria – food shortages and malnutrition – and mass deaths would occur “in the near future” without an immediate surge in aid. It projects a famine in May.
The IPC has said for months that Gaza is experiencing its most severe food insecurity ever. In a report in March, it was stated that 100 percent of Gazans were experiencing severe food shortages, and for half the population – far exceeding the 20 percent figure associated with famine – conditions had reached the highest level, category 5 or “catastrophic”.
In southern Gaza, where Reuters journalists operate, some residents are forced to feed their children with boiled leaves. Reuters saw a number of children being treated for acute malnutrition at a hospital in Rafah, while conditions were reportedly much worse in the north.
Israel said the IPC report’s methodology was flawed and stated that there was no food shortage in Gaza. They blame the famine on the operations of aid agencies and militants who are said to be hoarding food.
In addition to hunger, aid agencies are also concerned about the lack of health and sanitation services. There are no longer fully functional hospitals in the north, and there are only a few hospitals in the south. Israel has repeatedly raided and surrounded the hospital, saying that Hamas fighters were using the hospital as a base, but this was denied by medical staff.
Overcrowding encourages the spread of disease, and many people have little or no access to clean toilets or washing facilities.
