Nakba From Siege to Exodus: Gaza’s Never-Ending Tragedy

By
Paul Knaggs
-
451
Netanyahu Shows Map of 'New Middle East'
Netanyahu Shows Map of 'New Middle East'—Without Palestine—to UN General Assembly

Impending Gaza Ground Invasion: Collective Punishment a Nakba an Act of Genocide

The Israeli military, on Friday, ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region inhabited by 1.1 million people, roughly half of the territory’s population, all within a tight 24-hour window, as reported by a U.N. spokesperson.

This so-called evacuation decree by the Israeli military impacts a staggering 1.1 million individuals, essentially compelling the entire population of the territory to squeeze into the southern half of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israel continues its strikes across the region, including in the southern areas.

This directive comes ahead of an impending ground offensive by the Israeli military. The residents have been given until 4pm local time today to take safe passage ahead of an expected Israeli assault on Gaza.

The Israeli airstrikes, thus far, have obliterated entire city blocks. This comes on the heels of a siege announced earlier in the week, which cut off essential supplies like food, water, and medical aid. The region also plunged into a near-complete blackout.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military, Jonathan Conricus, has justified the evacuation as a means to protect civilians and prevent Hamas from using them as human shields. He urged the residents of the targeted areas to vacate immediately and return “only when we tell them that it is safe to do so.”

Tel Aviv claims the evacuation protects civilians from harm and deprives Hamas of human shields. But such fanciful reasoning barely cloaks the collective punishment inflicted on Gaza’s captive population. Such fantastical reasoning insults our intelligence. Emptying half of Gaza hands Israel a blank canvas for a Nakba an Act of Genocide, not a humanitarian gesture.

As one Palestinian stated, “Hamas will slip away mixing in with their mothers their fathers their wives and their children after all they are part of the Palestinian population too.” The innocent will pay the blood price.

However, to assume that the Israeli military will encounter nothing but vacant structures in this forsaken terrain is to disregard the stark lessons of Afghanistan. They have learnt well. The haunting reality of deserted homes turning into lethal traps rigged with IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) will not be a concern here. Instead, these towns, villages, and homes will be mercilessly razed to the ground, flattened beyond any hope of repair, ensuring that Palestinians have nothing to return to.

This is beyond Old Testament with its decree of an ‘eye for an eye’. What was once an act of vengeance has now transformed into a potential genocide in the making—a contemporary Nakba, reflecting a land grab that surpasses the historical horrors of William the Conqueror’s “Harrying of the North.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that trying to evacuate people out of an area that is under bombardment and under siege is not only “extremely dangerous” but might just be “simply impossible”. 

The spiral of destruction is constantly escalating. Israel cut off food, water, medicine and electricity to Gaza earlier this week. In a medieval siege of two million people, yet Western leaders cheer on the slaughter in the name of “self-defence.”

The choice of staying or leaving has been made as the UN warns water has run out in Gaza. The UN has warned more than two million people are at risk of dying of thirst in this dry unforgiving land.

“It has become a matter of life and death. It is a must; fuel needs to be delivered now into Gaza to make water available for 2 million people,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General.

Israeli troops are now bracing to launch a bloody ground, having stepped up devastating artillery strikes on Gaza. In a statement, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said it was “continuing to strike Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip”. Their air force confirmed it had killed Ali Qadhi, the Hamas commander responsible for last week’s cross-border attack on Israeli settlements.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Supporting a Mediaeval Siege of Gaza

PM Benjamin Netanyahu warned in a televised address that strikes on the region were “just the beginning” and vowed to “destroy” Hamas.

This cycle of vengeance never ends well. Already whole neighbourhoods lie in ruins from Israeli air strikes. Gaza’s civilians – half of them children – endure appalling privation, deprived of power, food and medicine. Collective punishment of innocents disgraces civilisation itself.

For those fleeing northern Gaza, Israel’s ultimatum proved a mere pretext for further brutality. Even before the deadline expired, Israeli forces launched deadly ground incursions into Gaza.

The exiled refugees rushed to join those crammed in Southern Gaza while Israeli artillery rains down. As the UN confirms, water has already run out. “It has become a matter of life and death,” stated UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. “Fuel needs to be delivered now into Gaza to make water available for 2 million people.”

The civilian convoy was attacked despite claims of “safe” passage. Women and young children died after the vehicles were bombed during the forced evacuation.

The attack on the convoy was verified by the BBC, saying women and children – some aged between two and five years old – were among the dead, the BBC claims it is still ‘unclear’ who had carried it out. No wonder such biased reporting is called out as we see BBC headquarters coated in red paint after backlash to Israel war coverage.

BBC headquarters coated in red paint after backlash to Israel war coverage
BBC headquarters coated in red paint after backlash to Israel war coverage© Twitter/@vicderbyshire

It is a reflection of this Big Brother society we live in where ahead of the UK march, the Met Police released a map showing the route protesters must stick to.

Under Section 12 of the Public Order Act, restrictions will be in place from midday on Saturday. The route goes from Portland Place to Regent’s Street, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.

Anyone who goes outside the demonstration path could be subject to arrest, the force has warned.

But around the world, the hope of peace lies with the millions of people who have braved the authorities and protested this coming atrocity demanding our leaders bring peace, and not cheer on a a step towards Armagedón.

As defiance swells instead in the streets, from London to Auckland, we see people joining a global chorus demanding peace. Only global solidarity can awaken politicians who are cheering genocide from their privileged positions.

Before Gaza becomes history’s next massacre, the people must cry “enough” loader and loader until the world heeds their call.

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