The unforgiving assault on humanity

As 7th October signalled the start of second year of the horrific and horrible Israel-Gaza conflict, veteran Congress leader Shahi Tharoor expressed his concerns and called for a swift ceasefire to reduce further damage and bloodshed. “While Israel would be said to be exercising the right to self-defence, initially, subsequently, it has gone to the extent of 41,000 lives lost, most of the population of Gaza displaced, the terrible destruction of that entire area and, of course, large numbers of schools, hospitals, health care centres, mosques all sorts of things have been destroyed”, he said.

While the unruly might of Israel has been globally condemned by various national and international organisations including the United nations, yet no respite and amelioration in the sufferings of innocent Palestinians has been sensed. The skies of Gaza are darkened by the plumes of smoke rising from persistent bombing of residential houses, churches and mosques. It is now a fact that Israel’s bombardment is not merely aimed at Hamas bases but at the innocent Palestinian life. A mere sight of innocent dead children bathed in blood being pulled from the debris of their sweet homes melts ones heart. This war is agonising and unfortunately escalating with each passing day. Thousands have died so far, hundreds and thousands have been displaced and even more are injured in hospitals hopelessly waiting for death. The cries of parents searching the rubble for the bodies of their children are muffled by the deafening sounds of bombs and bullets.

The use of booby trap devices like  pagers and walkie-talkies to neutralise Hizbullah militants also inflicted unprecedented sufferings on innocent civilians. Were all those targeted with these booby trapped devices militants? All reliable news agencies responded with a resounding ‘NO’. Rather innocent children and women were killed and thousands were brutally injured. Furthermore, article 7(2) of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and Other Devices, usually referred to as Protocol II, reads , “It is prohibited to use booby-traps or other devices in the form of apparently harmless portable objects which are specifically designed and constructed to contain explosive material.” So it raises a pertinent question that if Israel has violated the tenets of the Protocol that it is a part of ?

The war is not restricted to Gaza alone. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals have stopped rendering their services in many hospitals of Lebanon because hospitals are being targeted to cause intensified damage and bloodshed. According to BBC ,” At least four hospitals in Lebanon announced on Friday that they were suspending work because of Israeli strikes, while a Hezbollah-affiliated health organisation said that 11 paramedics had been killed in the past 24 hours.”

The broken dreams and spirits

Palestinian children have grown up watching their homes destroyed and their dreams burried under the rubble alongside the bodies of their loved ones. Life for them has been a nightmare. They see themselves stranded between the devil and the deep blue sea with bleak future. Where schools are bombed, education can’t be accessible. The unprecedented blockade inflicted on Gaza has turned daily survival into some strange struggle. The dearth of  food, water, electricity , medical supplies among others is multiplying the sufferings of innocent Palestinians. People sleep, though reluctantly,  wondering if they could survive the next strike, the next day, the next night. So they stand nowhere, absolutely helpless and dejected. The systematic assault of their spirit is the most ruthless aspect of this genocide.

Beyond physical trauma

Beyond the physical, the emotional flaws are irreparable. Innocent children growing up amidst bloodshed, death and destruction get immersed in the depths of desolations and sorrows.  For how long can a human being, broken and tormented in so many ways, continue to smile, survive and resist?

Tasaduq Maqbool Bhat, a civil services aspirant.