Gaza - be human

U.K. criticises Israel

The Government at Westminster has at long last condemned the war in Gaza as "intolerable."  

More particularly, the U.K. Prime Minister declares that he is "horrified" by Israel's decision to escalate its military campaign, that Israel's decision to allow some aid in was "utterly inadequate;" with the Foreign Secretary adding that the situation in Gaza is "abominable." 

The conflict in Gaza started after Hamas militants crossed into Israel on 7 Oct 2023 and killed 1200 people and taking another 251 people as hostages.  It has been described as "the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust (1)".  Israel's response has led to an estimated 53,000 or more Palestinians being killed in consequent attacks in Gaza, nearly a third of them children according to Gaza's health authorities. 

In the aftermath of the U.K's widely heralded ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, one wonders why it has taken our Government so long to speak up about Gaza, its cost in terms of lives lost, never mind financial and other costs.  

The BBC's report (2) of the PM's announcement in Parliament includes a reference to the conference of the World Jewish Council in Jerusalem.  The WJC's president has criticised Israel for starving Gazans and causing destruction.  Similar criticisms have previously been articulated from relatives of Israeli hostages objecting to Israel's military campaign and its threat to their captive relations' lives.

Learning lessons from wars

Elsewhere and coincidentally time-wise, newspaper reports about the life story of Margot Friedländer née Bendheim, a 103 year old survivor of the Holocaust and her funeral merit attention.  She was buried in her birth city of Berlin on 15 May.  One report (3) subtly refers to the polarised atmosphere of Germany's post-October 7 moral maze, another provides more obituary detail with the inclusion of heart-warming photographs of this grand dame meeting world leaders like Angela Merkel (4).  

The pacifist campaigner's relentless message in schools quietly declared that 

"There is no Christian, Jewish or Muslim blood, just human blood.  People killed millions of        people because they didn't see their victims as people. It is your task to make sure in future        that nothing ever happens like what we experienced. My message is simple; be human."

Source: NewYork Times obituary
 Pleading charities

Bona fide charities have likewise been calling for action and a ceasefire for well over a year.  For example, to pick just a few:- 

  • On 2 May the International Committee for the Red Cross said that the humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of total collapse.  It added that "under international humanitarian law, Israel has an obligation to use all means available to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population under its control are met;"  
  • the International Rescue Committee (rescue.org/uk) says Gaza's hospitals home and infrastructure are in ruins. The IRC is delivering water sanitation, medical care and child malnutrition programmes; 
  • the United Nations World Food Programme provide critical food aid but need to reach more families in Palestine wfp.org 
  • Medical Aid for Palestinians have an urgent plea to provide safe water to families in southern Gaza where MAP teams are ensuring access to clean drinking water for those in urgent need" map.org.uk.  
  • Other charities such as Action Against Hunger UK are pleading for public help to save lives of people in Gaza 
     

From the country that gave the world the Nobel Peace Prize, the comments of another concerned body are significant.  The humanitarian access manager of the Norwegian Refugee Council says that the siege of Gaza "is taking place in the full view of the international community which has a responsibility to take action."  The "barbaric blockade, it says," is part of "a broader campaign to ensure that Gaza becomes unlivable for Palestinians."  Some might interpret this criticism as akin to a synonym for military destruction of the holy land.

Judicial initiatives

Others have taken legal steps to end the catastrophe.  Cases have been lodged and rulings made by the International Court of Justice.  In one instance South Africa brought a case accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza war.  Some - less timorous nations such as Ireland (5), Spain and Turkey - providing some European support for South Africa's legal action. 

In April 2024 the Court's president confirmed the ICJ ruling declared that South Africa had the right to bring its case against Israel and that Palestinians had plausible rights to protection from genocide, rights which were at risk of irreparable damage (6) - and that Israel should take steps to prevent genocide from occurring. The judges concluded that if some of the Israel's acts were proven, it could be considered under the UN Convention on Genocide.

In July 2024 the ICJ declared Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank to be unlawful along with the associated settlement regime (7). 

And in November 2024 the International Criminal Court issued a trio of arrest warrants.  One was for the Palestinian leader Mohammed Al-Masri; another for the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and one for former defence minister Yoav Gallant who are both accused of using starvation as a method of warfare - a move described by the PM as "anti-semitic."  (Americans have a phrase - it goes - "excuse me").

All three face charges of crimes against humanity (8).

Concluding comments

Invaluable insights into the daily life and struggles of Gazans even before 7 October 2023 appears in a brilliant non-fiction book.  Nathan Thrall's "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama" was awarded the USA's best-known and long-established (1917) Pulitzer Prize in 2024.  It has also gone on to win Book of the Year in 18 publications.

One of the most eloquent of recent opinions about the conflict has been expressed by an Italian professional expert.  Francesca Albanese is the United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in Palestine.  Speaking about American policy in Israel and Palestine (9), she argues that the USA administration is 

"wildly and fastly contributing to the dismantlement of the world order established after World    War 2 in that it is acting manifestly above and against the law.  The US has always been            behind the legal policies that Israel has enacted against the Palestinians: the apartheid, the        forever occupation and now the genocide.  However, never before Trump was the forced            displacement of Palestinians announced as a foreign policy goal."

Albanese calls for all other UN member countries to resist "this huge affront, this huge assault.  It's really the united people of the world against the government of the USA."  Chillingly and possibly being reminiscent of the world 80+ years ago, she concludes by adding that "if we don't stop it, we will be the next victims."  

I know what a certain 103 year old survivor of the Holocaust called Margot Friedländer née Bendheim would say now -  "my message is simple: be human."

 

© Michael McSorley 2025  

 References

1. American Jewish Committee "Israel at War: what you need to know" www.ajc.org 

2. BBC News 21 May 2025  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnn6ed32eo

3. Irish Times 17 May 2025 Derek Scally "Holocaust survivor spread her profound meaasge to the end: be human" 

4. New York Times 10 May 2025 Penelope Green Obituaries                                               https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/world/europe/margot-friedlander-dead.html

5. CNN  7 Jan 2025 Max Saltman "Ireland joins genocide case against Israel at ICJ"  https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/01/07/middleeast/ireland-genocide-israel-icj-intl-latam 

6. BBC News17 May 2024 Dominic Casciani "What did ICJ ruling mean in S Africa's genocide case against Israel"  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3g9g63jl17o

7.  United Nations Human Rights https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/experts-hail-icj-declaration-illegality-israels-presence-occupied  

8. Amnesty International Press Release 21 Nov 2024  https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/israel-opt-arrest-warrants-netanyahu-gallant-and-al-masri-are-historic-breakthrough 

9. Irish Times 17 May 2025 Connor Capplis "If we don't stop it, we will be the next victims"



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