“The human toll among innocent civilians in Gaza is truly devastating. Over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed. Tens of thousands orphaned. Almost two million [were] displaced. Facing disease [or] starvation, desperation without proper healthcare or shelter. It is a living nightmare, and it must end,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer lamented on the anniversary of October 7.
While he eloquently highlighted the suffering of Palestinians, his refusal to stop arms sales to Israel or impose sanctions deepens their plight and reinforces Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidence that the UK will remain passive amid Israel’s ongoing atrocities against civilians. The same can be said for US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who may call for a ceasefire, but they are too unwilling to cut arms sales to Israel.
Empowered by unchecked authority in the Middle East, Netanyahu persistently bombs civilians in Gaza and Lebanon without discrimination, claiming countless lives while enforcing an occupation in Gaza and now extending it into Lebanon.
For Western leaders, the endless haunting images of Palestinians—murdered in their homes, worshippers gunned down in mosques, and children ensnared in violence on streets, in schools, and in hospitals—paint a bleak picture where safety eludes the Palestinian people. Labour MP Andy McDonald powerfully articulated this tragic reality in Parliament, stating, “The sight of a patient on an IV drip burning to death in the flames of an airstrike on the tents of refugees will be the abiding image of this genocide.”
Oxfam’s recent analysis reveals a heartbreaking truth: more women and children have perished in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli military over the past year than in any other conflict of the last two decades.
Yet, despite this alarming reality, the defence ministers of the G7 countries reiterated their support for Israel earlier this month, seemingly turning a blind eye to war crimes unfolding before them.
Their statement conveniently omits the context surrounding Iran’s two attacks against Israel, which were in direct response to the killing of Iranian officials and prominent figures close to the Islamic Republic, including Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and Hezbollah leader Nasrallah in Lebanon.
Moreover, the document fails to address Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed, vast areas lie in ruins, and the blockade prevents access to essential resources, threatening civilians in northern Gaza with starvation.
Independent MP Adnan Hussain aptly tweeted that the “International Community owes a duty of care to the civilian population of Gaza; we cannot sit back and simply watch an entire people being decimated!”
Britain had the power to eradicate ‘terrorism’ in Northern Ireland, potentially transforming vast areas into a smoking wasteland by bombing civilians, shooting children in the head, demolishing homes, and silencing journalists and aid workers. Yet it chose a different path, opting for restraint. So, why does the UK permit Israel to unleash such destruction upon Gaza?
A collective of 99 American health workers who dedicated their efforts in Gaza has implored the Biden administration to cease arms transfers to Israel considering the catastrophic impact of its military campaign and siege on innocent civilians. In support of their appeal, the health workers included a comprehensive appendix in their letter, meticulously detailing the profound loss of life resulting from the conflict, alongside the Israeli government’s policy of weaponised starvation.
Alarmed by today’s IPC report findings that high displacement and restrictions on humanitarian aid flows mean people in Gaza are facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
Famine looms. This is intolerable.
Crossing points must open immediately, bureaucratic impediments must be…— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 17, 2024
In a sombre echo of their concerns, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of “intolerable” looming famine in the Strip. “Alarmed by today’s IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) report findings that high displacement and restrictions on humanitarian aid flows mean people in Gaza are facing catastrophic levels of hunger,” Guterres expressed on X.
Britain, having rightly taken decisive action against Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine, knows precisely what must be done: impose sanctions on arms, trade, and officials. In reaction to the latest findings from the UN’s IPC report, Guterres stressed the gravity of the crisis, stating, “Famine looms. This is intolerable.”
In the first week of October, Israel sealed off the main crossings into northern Gaza, leaving a staggering 400,000 Palestinians currently cut off from essential supplies of food, water, and aid. UN humanitarian coordinator Muhannad Hadi poignantly said, “A military siege that deprives civilians of essential means of survival is unacceptable… Civilians must not be forced to choose between displacement and starvation.”
Today, an alarming 83% of the food aid required fails to reach Gaza, a dramatic increase from 34% in 2023. The spectre of malnutrition looms large, with an estimated 50,000 children aged between 6 and 59 months urgently needing treatment by year’s end.
Furthermore, the healthcare system teeters on the brink of collapse, with only around 1,500 hospital beds remaining operational, a stark decline from the already inadequate 3,500 beds in 2023—all struggling to serve a population of over 2 million, equivalent to the entire population of Hamburg, Germany.
Labour MP Abisam Mohamed tweeted that “Humanitarian law prohibits starvation as a weapon of warfare. It is unacceptable that no food has entered Northern Gaza since 1st Oct. I called on the UK Govt to take firm action against Israel’s illegal use of starvation as a weapon of war.”
Today, Gaza evokes the haunting memories of Japan eight decades ago, as Nobel laureate survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings reflected recently.
Addressing reporters in Tokyo after the Norwegian Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize to the Nihon Hidankyo group, co-chair Toshiyuki Mimaki shared his thoughts: “I thought for sure it would be the people working so hard in Gaza, as we’ve seen. In Gaza, bleeding children are being held by their parents. It’s like in Japan 80 years ago.”
To mark the first anniversary of October 7, a special poll of 2,000 Britons by Ipsos Mori on attitudes to the current Israeli-Gaza conflict found that 30% of respondents hold Israel primarily responsible, surpassing the 27% who blame Hamas. This marks a significant shift from last year when polls indicated that Britons were nearly twice as likely to blame Hamas over the Israeli government.
Furthermore, over a third (35%) of respondents believe Starmer has done a bad job of responding to the conflict, while six out of ten feel Israel’s military actions in Gaza have exceeded acceptable limits. Sympathy runs higher for Palestinian citizens, with 83% saying they are concerned for them, compared with 69% for Israeli citizens.
Despite overwhelming evidence of human rights abuses—some of the best documented in history thanks to social media—showing Israeli soldiers flaunting their war crimes on the ground and video testimonies from Palestinian survivors, the West’s hollow rhetoric on human rights and International Humanitarian Law evaporates in the face of Israel’s brutality in Gaza and Lebanon. In this grim reality, it is painfully clear that Western leaders have forsaken any semblance of humanity toward non-Europeans.
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