“Gaza will never be the same”: 100 days of war between Israel and Hamas

“Gaza will never be the same. We will reach a situation where whoever runs Gaza will be hit hard, we will dismantle him. And everyone who stays there will understand very well that this is not done with the State of Israel,” warned Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, chief of the Israeli General Staff, on October 12, five days after the start of the war against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Indeed, as this Sunday, January 14, marks 100 days since the beginning of the conflict, the Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip do not stop. Israel continued shelling Saturday with increased intensity in the southern city of Rafah, where a house housing two displaced families was hit, killing 10 people, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

The spokesman for that ministry, Ashraf Al-Qidra, assured that the Israeli attacks killed at least 135 Palestinians and injured 312 in just 24 hours. Which brings the death toll in the Strip to more than 23,800, mostly civilians, since the war broke out on October 7, the most tragic toll of civilian victims in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

And the offensive will continue, Israel has warned.

“We are on the path to victory and we will not stop until we achieve it. There is nothing that compromises us and no one can stop us (…) The war will not stop neither because of The Hague nor because of the threats of the axis of evil,” were the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this Saturday.

Netanyahu was emphatic in pointing out that not even the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will dissuade Israel from maintaining the war in Gaza until it achieves “total victory,” in response to the lawsuit filed by South Africa in that court, alleging genocide against the Palestinians.

Along with its warning, Israel has assured during these 100 days that its target is Hamas militants and other Islamist factions and that it is doing everything possible to minimize harm to civilians.

But the war against Hamas has been fought in densely populated urban areas of the Palestinian enclave. According to Israeli authorities, “numerous militants are now hiding” in important cities in the southern part of the Strip such as Khan Younis and Rafah, as well as in central Gaza.

A logic of war that international organizations have questioned by showing that the impact on civilians is too high. Most of the Gazan population, of 2.3 million inhabitants, has been displaced and much of the territory has been devastated.

For its part, the Government of Israel claims that it has killed at least 8,000 fighters from the Islamist group so far. Tel Aviv affirms that it “has no choice but to end Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip” after militants from that group carried out several attacks on October 7, 2023, which left 1,200 people dead, mainly civilians, in the territory. Israeli, and more than 200 hostages.

Demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians

The magnitude of the violence in Gaza and the dire humanitarian situation have shocked much of the international community, with growing calls for a ceasefire.

This Saturday, January 13, the day of “global action in solidarity with the Palestinian people” was celebrated. One of the main demonstrations in favor of peace and sovereignty of the Palestinian territories took place in the capital of the United Kingdom. The streets of London were filled with posters blaming the State of Israel for committing genocide against the Palestinian people.

Mustafa Al Dabbagh, representative of the Muslim Council of the United Kingdom, stated for the AFP news agency that “the British Government must recognize that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”

In other European capitals, crowds also took to the streets to wave the Palestinian flag. In Rome, hundreds of protesters lined a boulevard near the famous Colosseum with signs reading: “Stop Genocide.”

The protest simulated war with sound effects that imitated bomb explosions and several protesters lying on the street covered in white sheets.

In Paris, protesters gathered in Place de la République to call for an immediate ceasefire; the end of the war; the lifting of the blockade on Gaza; as well as the imposition of sanctions on Israel. There, some posters also accompanied by the Palestinian flag said: “From Gaza to Paris. Resistance.”

In other regions of the world, such as Johannesburg (South Africa) and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; As well as in cities in more than 30 countries, protesters were also called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign to demand an end to the war.

In the United States, Israel's main military ally, thousands of protesters gathered in front of the White House with speeches and signs that questioned the viability of President Joe Biden as a presidential candidate due to his firm support for the Israeli government in the war.

Some of the signs read: “No genocide vote, Joe”; and “Biden has blood on his hands.”

Israelis take to the streets defying Netanyahu

The 100th day of the war also began with demonstrations in Israel. Thousands of people, including the relatives of the hostages held by Hamas on October 7, protested against the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded that the captives be released.

Three months ago, the relatives of the hostages organized a group that attends numerous press conferences and calls for mobilizations to demand that the Israeli Government, made up of a right-wing and ultra-conservative coalition, negotiate with Hamas for the release of all the hostages.

However, Netanyahu and his Administration are not willing to call a truce anytime soon. On Saturday, the Chief of the Army General Staff, Herzi Halevi, justified the war and its continuation:

“It is important to remember that we are fighting a war more just than any other, a war started by a bloodthirsty enemy that inhumanely massacred innocent people. We have not forgotten it, we will not forget it and we will continue to remember it, even to those who try to deny it. ”

Halevi responded to the relatives of those kidnapped that Israel “was doing everything possible, especially in secret, to free them.”

An insufficient statement for the claim of thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. The chorus “now”, in reference to the request for immediate release, became an anthem at each demonstration.

Of the nearly 250 kidnapped by Hamas during attacks in southern Israel on October 7, a hundred hostages were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a truce in late November.

According to figures from the Israeli authorities, 13 are still missing, 25 of whom have died without their bodies having been returned.

The UN urges a ceasefire after 100 days of war

“The nightmare for children and adults in Gaza continues as the risk of disease, malnutrition and death from bombs increases, which continue to fall in most of the territory. “UN Human Rights criticizes Israel's lack of compliance with international humanitarian law,” the UN said in a statement published on January 12.

An immediate ceasefire is “more urgent than ever”, warned the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

His spokesperson, Liz Throssell, reiterated the need for his office staff to have access to Israel and all areas of the Palestinian territories to investigate human rights violations committed by the parties.

The UN also warned of risks of war crimes and emphasized the danger of an escalation of the conflict at the regional level. As for the West Bank, the organization claims that it has been able to verify the murder of 330 Palestinians, including 84 children, since the beginning of hostilities. Most were killed by Israeli security forces, while eight died at the hands of settlers.

With Reuters, AP, AFP and local media