The world marked one year of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7. It was on this day last year that the current hostilities began when Hamas launched an assault on Israel in response to years of repression under Israeli occupation. In that sense, the war didn’t begin on October 7 as the western world tends to believe but has been ongoing since 1948 when Palestinians were driven out of their homeland. There have been several violent manifestations in between of which the current conflict is the most extreme. Israel has killed nearly 42000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in response to 1139 Israelis, also mostly women and children, killed in the Hamas attack.
A year on, Israel has only sought to expand the war rather than agree to a ceasefire. It has recently launched an invasion of Lebanon, and is in the process of replicating the same devastation in an otherwise sovereign country that it did in Gaza. What is more, Israel is also on the brink of an all-out war with Iran. Israel has engaged in a series of reckless actions, apparently geared to drag Iran into the war and, in turn, directly involve the United States. It killed Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran while he was there to attend new Iran president Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing in ceremony. It subsequently killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasarallah while he was reportedly negotiating a ceasefire with Tel Aviv.
As things stand, Israel’s script is playing out as intended. An Israel-Iran war with the involvement of the US will be catastrophic for the region. It could lead to a multifront war with not just regional but global implications. Any strike on Iran’s oil facilities will throw energy markets in turmoil with massive repercussions for the global economy.
But with so much at stake, the world is doing precious little to halt the Israeli madness. The powerful west led by the US is continuing to fund and arm Israel, while at the same time issuing stock statements about the need for a ceasefire. Rest of the world has also withdrawn from the conflict and taken on the role of a spectator. The great powers such as China and Russia have watched indifferently from a distance at the deteriorating state of affairs. Nor have they confronted the west for encouraging Israel down this dangerous path. This is a tragic abdication of their global responsibility. More so, at a time when the US far from playing a leadership role has become a party to the genocide in the region and, in a sense, is egging Israel on to double down on the killings. This needs the world as a whole to work together to not just enforce the truce but also work towards a just solution to Palestinian issue, the longstanding source of all tragedy in the region with far-reaching implications for global stability.
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