It is a long while since we have reported from Gaza. The Next Century Foundation has four prominent members in Gaza. NCF member and Al Jazeerah journalist Wael Dahdouh had lost his wife and two youngest children during the bombing of Gaza. His oldest son, Hamza, has now also been killed. And Wael himself, injured, was taken out to Qatar today for surgery. Here he is (left) saying farewell to Hamza. Prior to this of course, Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daka was killed by bombing while he was filming with Wael Dahdouh who was wounded at that time. 

The latest statistics available as of 22 January 2024 are as follows:  25,105 people have been listed killed in Gaza by Israel’s attacks from air, land, and sea with at least 65% presumed to be women and children; 8,000 people are missing and presumed dead under the rubble; 62,681 are listed as wounded including 8,663 children. There has also been an increase in violence in the West Bank since October 7. According to the latest data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 369 people have been killed on the West Bank, including 95 children, and over 4,000 people injured.

Meanwhile the Head of the NCF in Gaza, the award-winning AFP journalist Adel Zaanoun (pictured right), thankfully remains alive as does his family.

Gaza

Currently, Qatar says it has brokered a deal to deliver medicine and aid to Gaza subject to Hamas providing medical attention for the Israelis held hostage.

Last week South African lawyers presented a case at the International Court of Justice in the Hague where they accused Israel of committing genocidal acts against Gaza. They claimed that Israel was “deliberately” imposing conditions on Gaza that “cannot sustain life and are calculated to bring about its physical destruction,” referencing that malnutrition and disease create a “deadly cycle.”

The war has not allowed the effective delivery of aid and humanitarian assistance into Gaza. The UN health agency has reported six humanitarian missions to northern Gaza cancelled since December 26. The Qatar deal is long overdue.

The Gazans are under crisis levels of famine and live in extreme conditions where they are without adequate shelter or sanitation.

Israel has categorically rejected the claims put forward by South Africa and remains traumatised by and in mourning for the 132 captives still held in Gaza.

Escalation: Hezbollah, Houthi threats, and tensions with Egypt

Israel and Hezbollah have traded daily fire in cross-border battles since October 7. More pressing developments of the escalation include the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas’s deputy political leader, on January 2 in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut, the death of top Hezbollah commander Wissam al-Tawil on January 8 in southern Lebanon, and intensified Hezbollah attacks on Israeli military targets. These events have heightened tensions and raised concerns of the conflict ‘spilling over’ into the broader region.

In Yemen, the Ansarullah government that controls most of the country, or, the “Houthi rebels,” say they will prevent Israeli ships or any ship going to Israel’s ports from sailing in the Red Sea if Israel sustains its attacks and siege on Gaza. The narrow strip of water that runs down from the Suez Canal to the Gulf of Aden and separates Africa from the Middle East is one of the most important shipping routes in the world: 20% of global container volumes, 10% of the seaborne trade, and 8-10% of seaborne gas and oil pass up the Red Sea routes. The UK and over twenty other nations have joined the US in its maritime campaign, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to “defend the safety and security of commercial shipping.” US and UK airstrikes have shot down Houthi missiles, taken out boats, and killed Houthi assailants. Chaos in the Red Sea poses a significant risk of escalating into a lengthy regional war.

The US and UK have denounced Houthi attacks as a threat to “freedom and navigation,” an accusation which Ansarullah denies, instead stating that their attacks are in solidarity with Palestine. The US has said these attacks are “hurting people around the world” including in Yemen and in Gaza. More attacks by the US, UK, and Ansarullah may lead to greater escalation.

Now relations between Israel and Egypt are at risk as Premier Netanyahu insists that the ‘Philadelphi corridor’, or what he has termed the “southern breach,” “must be in our hands.” Controlling the strip of land that separates Gaza from Egypt, and has been under Egyptian control since 2005, would give Israel full de facto reoccupation of the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu argues that sealing off the zone is necessary to demilitarise Gaza and achieve his goal of eradicating Hamas. His comments signify an escalatory shift in relations between neighbours.

International: Blinken’s trip

United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken’s trip across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East included meetings with leaders in Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt. At press conferences, he urged everyone to “keep a lid on things” and avoid the spread of conflict. He said these discussions involved “challenging questions of governance,” “Palestinian-led governance” and “security rebuilding.”

Supposedly, Turkey is “prepared to play a productive role” in Gaza’s postwar strategy, while Saudi Arabia has indicated potential diplomatic recognition of Israel subject to alleviating the suffering of Gazans and putting Palestinians on a “path toward statehood”. Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman and other leaders are willing “to help Gaza stabilise and recover” and “chart a political path forward for the Palestinians.” In Ramallah, Blinken said Abbas was “committed” to establishing effective governance for the Palestinian people. However, the details of postwar Gaza discussions in his comments remain ambiguous.

US President Biden is putting pressure on Netanyahu to shift towards a ‘lower-intensity’ war, and to work towards eventual statehood for the Palestinians. America is still not calling for a ceasefire, and Blinken has dismissed charges of genocide against Israel as “meritless.”

Netanyahu’s stance

Israel’s Premier Netanyahu has now come out in the starkest way to the astonishment of much of the international community, stating that there will be no negotiations towards a two-state solution on his watch. Many world leaders have expressed dismay at his renewed emphasis on what he claims has always been his position. He is reluctant to respond to the pressures of Washington; and the divergent right-wing government in Israel is not contemplating concessions or advocating de-escalation because it would immediately be labelled, as a reward for terrorism.

Israel insists that the withdrawal of thousands of troops from northern Gaza should not be seen as any kind of retreat but rather as an opportunity for recuperation and training. Bibi Netanyahu has stated that the war will persist “for many more months.”

Arguably Prime Minister Netanyahu will continue to use this war as a shield from the massive domestic political trouble he’s in.

Our most recent blogs on Gaza can be found on this link

The image used first above is by Gerd Altmann