jDay after day, the terrible toll of the Gaza war continues to worsen, already exceeding forty thousand dead and hundreds of thousands wounded, which, on the scale of France, would represent around 1.3 million dead, a third of them children, and three million wounded. Although these figures are dizzying, international opinion seems to have become accustomed to such routine horror.
This general passivity can be explained by different factors, starting with the ban on access to Gaza for the Western press, which cushions the impact of the ongoing tragedy or even encourages campaigns of negativity. But the extent of this collective astonishment is also due to a disturbing loss of meaning, as if such a horrific carnage had come to defy comprehension. It is therefore essential to remember that the Israeli offensive against Gaza, launched in retaliation for the terrorist bloodbath of 7 October 2023, has already changed its nature twice, first with the reoccupation of land on 27 October and then with the attack on Rafah on 6 May.
- A first war of retaliation
In response to the massacre perpetrated on October 7 by Hamas and its allies on Israeli territory (1,200 dead, two-thirds of them civilians), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government launched an unprecedented wave of bombings against the Gaza Strip. The intense bombardment of the Palestinian enclave, isolated from the rest of the world, left nearly eight thousand dead in three weeks, although two-thirds of the population had to flee their homes to reach areas considered “safe” by the Israeli army. Although the vast majority of victims have been recorded in the centre and north of the territory, no sector of the Gaza Strip is truly safe. Israel’s allies solemnly warn it against the dangers of a ground offensive. But Benjamin Netanyahu ignores this, even if it means falling into the trap that Hamas set for him in Gaza.
- The second war of reoccupation
The ground campaign that Israel launched in the Gaza Strip on October 27 is fundamentally different from the previous ground interventions that marked the 2009 and 2014 wars in Gaza. It is, in effect, a methodical and devastating reoccupation, based on Israel’s complete control of a central axis, stretching seven kilometers toward the Mediterranean, an axis that divides the enclave in two south of the city from Gaza. Israel calls this axis the “Netzarim corridor” in memory of the religiously inspired settlement that was evacuated there in 2005.
You have 49.21% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
