Although ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Palestine are set to restart in the upcoming days, the conflict has once again escalated with a series of attacks in northern Gaza, leaving over 70 people dead in two days (Reuters). Israeli airstrikes in early January targeted the Al-Mawasi district of Gaza, which was previously designated as a humanitarian zone. Civilian structures, including refugee camps and hospitals, were hit by Israeli forces, preventing Palestinians still living in northern Gaza from accessing critical resources. The current surge of violence in Gaza is part of the conflict that began on October 7th, 2023, when the Palestinian political and militant group Hamas killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and took another 254 hostages in the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history. Since the conflict began, Israeli forces have killed at least 45,500 Palestinians, according to the reported death toll—the majority of whom being women and children—and displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants, creating one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our time.
No foreign journalists have been permitted into Gaza for over a year, and according to Al Jazeera, over 200 journalists have been killed since the war started. Hospitals have been targeted by Israel’s military, despite a statement shared by Al Jazeera from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights refuting accusations that healthcare facilities have been harboring Hamas fighters. Aid distributors and refugee camps have also been struck by Israeli forces, leaving Palestinians without access to food, water, and other critical resources for months at a time.
The international community has condemned Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu for excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians. Still, support for Israel from the United States has allowed the decimation of Gaza to continue with little resistance. In fact, according to Reuters, President Joe Biden has called for an $8 billion weapons sale to Israel in a final move on the issue before leaving office. The United Nations World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has demanded Israel immediately halt current military strategies that target healthcare facilities, and Qatar has encouraged negotiations to resume between the two warring parties. However, in an interview with Al Jazeera, Israeli political analyst Ori Goldberg asserted that both parties, particularly Israel, are not motivated to come to an agreement, reflecting uncertainty as to whether or not Palestine and Israel will be able to reach a diplomatic resolution.
Since the current conflict started 15 months ago, leaders and watchdog organizations around the world have pointed to the abominable treatment of Palestinian civilians at the hands of President Netanyahu’s government with limited success in changing the reality. The United Nations International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) issued arrest warrants for President Netanyahu and his defense minister Yoav Gallant in November of 2024, which can only be acted on if either was to travel to an I.C.C.-compliant country. Similar warrants were also issued for Hamas commanders in power at the time. National leaders from around the world have criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza from the start of the current conflict, citing fears that tensions could escalate into one of the worst conflicts the region has ever seen. Unfortunately, those grim predictions were correct, as over one year later the civilian death toll continues to rise without any significant international intervention.
Earlier in the conflict, the United States—Israel’s strongest ally—threatened to make aid conditional on Netanyahu halting mass human rights abuses. However, as the situation in Gaza has grown more and more severe, the United States has reneged on its threats and doubled down on its long-standing support for Israel, writing checks for weapons that will almost certainly be used against civilians. Other countries have been more willing than the United States to call out Israel’s war crimes, but in light of continuing support from the Biden administration, no coordinated international response has taken place.
Several U.N. organizations, like the W.H.O., I.C.C., and U.N. Human Rights Council, have expressed the direness of human rights abuses by Israel in Gaza, emphasizing the disproportionate use of military force on civilians. The international community is therefore aware of the circumstances facing Palestinian civilians, but any efforts to bring an end to the conflict have been immaterial and ineffective. One failure of the current strategy is abundantly clear: mere condemnations of Israel’s war crimes without any accountability do not work. There are several things that must happen for true accountability to take place.
First and foremost, the United States must end unconditional military support to Israel. The U.S. is unlikely to completely abandon its most important ally in the region, but moving forward, aid to Israel should include no weapons sales and be used only with the intent of promoting the security of Israeli and Palestinian civilians. If the United States were to take a stand against Israel’s human rights abuses, other countries and international organizations would likely follow suit.
Secondly, the international community must be on the same page about the extent of human rights abuses committed by Israel. Amnesty International, a notable international human rights organization, has called the war in Gaza a genocide. Several world leaders have also voiced concern that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has escalated to genocide; according to the Associated Press, South Africa has claimed that over 50 countries support their ongoing case accusing Israel of committing genocide. Others still consider Israel’s actions to be self-defense. If world leaders could come to a unanimous decision that what is occurring in Palestine is, in fact, a genocide, a coordinated international response to end the war would be much more feasible.
Once the international community—particularly the United States—can admit the extent of civilian suffering in Gaza at the hands of Israel, an international team, ideally guided by the U.N. Security Council, must immediately act to bring an end to the conflict. Even without the cooperation of the United States, action must be taken to prevent more suffering. A coordinated international response will not be easy, but inaction is not an option. As long as the international community prolongs an intervention, Israeli hostages will remain in captivity and Palestinian civilians will continue to be slaughtered.
Reaching a ceasefire deal that both Israel and Palestine agree to based on each party’s current terms is unlikely, but two points should remain non-negotiable. First, Palestine must return hostages to Israel, and second, Israel must agree to a solution that provides Palestinians with an independent state. Considering the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict (for more information, see the OWP Crisis Index Page), peace-building will be a challenge that requires international support well into the future.
The war in Gaza is one of the most brutal displays of human rights violations of this century, but little has been done to put an end to it. Instead, the United States has followed the status quo of unconditional support to Israel, allowing the war to continue taking civilian lives at a devastatingly high rate. After 15 months of unjustifiable violence at the hands of both Hamas and Israel, it is time for international actors to demand an immediate end to the conflict, and with or without the United States, coordinated action must be taken to alleviate the suffering of civilians.
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