Few hours before Israeli Gaza operation, or even minutes, I wrote about the Gaza question in terms of the recent ending of the truce there and the situation of the people of Gaza, especially in humanitarian terms. I wrote that in addition to the Gaza people’s suffering from the measures adopted by Israel, which are very similar to collective punishments, besides the illegitimate Hamas control over the strip, now they have to deal with the vain rockets and explosives of Hamas and the missiles of Israel after Hamas ended the truce in Gaza few days ago.
In this regard, the people of Gaza have been suffering from the dual use, by Hamas as a means to pressure the Arab countries and the international community under humanitarian pretext, and by Israel to pressure Hamas and its control of Gaza. Then, those people’s situation became the most painful part of the entire question concerning Gaza strip.
The Israeli Gaza operation’s preliminary consequence was about emphasizing this above-mentioned reality, especially as regards the continuous suffering of the civilian inhabitants there, with current further suffering from the military acts there, as exactly expected. Therefore, and first of all, if Hamas wants to fight Israel on its behalf or other regional party’s behalf, it should let the civilian inhabitants aside as exactly as Israel should do. Otherwise, it would be definitely a war crime according to the international humanitarian law, which is clearly and easily applicable here, as Hamas enjoys a status of a fighting party of war due to its internationally recognized control of Gaza strip.
Then, the fighting parties are obliged by the international law to avoid civilians in their military acts, and to make every possible arrangement to ensure the civilians’ safety in this regard. Moreover, Israel should avoid the excessive and unnecessary use force, as it does not need to show its big striking air force at the expense of armless civilians. Besides, Israel should clearly realize that firing Hamas rockets or other like devices towards civilian areas does not ever justify similar action by Israeli forces.
The most important demand on the Israeli side, which should be demanded at the international level, is that Israel should change the course of collective punishment in Gaza, as it decided that Hamas is the target of the Israeli operations in Gaza. Then, civilians of Gaza should not ever be used as a means of targeting Hamas or its control of Gaza, because this is definitely a war crime.
Finally, we, in the region, would never accept a civilian dying on behalf of Hamas or its own power agenda or its non-Palestinian regional sponsors or masters.
The bottom line of this question is, as the massive Israeli course of action in Gaza must stop, also the regional intervention and use of Gaza must stop.
