It is strange and disturbing, how we all think the war in Israel and Gaza must come to end soon, but at each turn it seems to become more complicated and there is still no end in sight.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel some trepidation flying into Ramon in Eilat, as only the day before the IDF had somehow mislabelled an incoming projectile as safe, only to see it slam into the airport. Human error they say. It is, of course, a worry as even in the 48 hours we have been here , there have been 5 drone attacks in the area from Yemen aimed at the airport.
Twice the sirens have sounded in Eilat and three times in the neighbouring area of Beer Ora, with fighter jets overhead at the Kibbutz as they head out to Yemen to try to destroy the rocket launchers and persuade the Houthi that they will only lose if they continue attacking Israel. Tel Aviv and the Jerusalem area also had sirens last night.
Mostly, life is carrying on as normal on the surface but under the surface the mothers are terrified for their children who have been called to serve in one of the most dangerous conflicts the world has seen in many years.
Underground urban warfare has no precedent and as well trained and brave as the IDF may be, this type of fighting is not like anything the world has previously witnessed. This week alone four young soldiers lost their lives when they were booby trapped.
While the world continues to give support to Hamas through their anti Israel marches, and western governments promise them a state of their own there is no reason for them to even consider surrendering, and they certainly do not have any incentive to release the hostages.
The Israeli strike on Qatar was a huge gamble, and if the attempt to eliminate the Hamas leaders sitting comfortably in Doha failed, then it may prove to be a real mistake.
Israel is fully aware the Qataris are playing a double game, masquerading as honest brokers trying to negotiate a ceasefire that would see the release of the hostages, while simultaneously hosting the hardline leaders of Hamas who stand in the way of any ceasefire . The US claim Qatar as an ally despite there being plenty of evidence showing that they sponsor terrorist groups worldwide.
Qatar cannot be easily dismissed as they, together with the Europeans via UNWRA, have been the main funders of Hamas, so only they can exert pressure on Hamas to give up the hostages and surrender . The Europeans have no intention of pressuring Hamas and consistently send them encouragement with their anti Israel foreign policy, so Qatar are the only hope for a diplomatic solution to the war.
President Trump sends a lot of harsh messages to Hamas but he doesn’t seem to have any teeth to bite.
While the leaders enjoy immunity and live in comfort, they do not care at all about the suffering of their people and are happy to continue using the civilians as human shields. We do not know how many people in Gaza are innocent civilians and how many still support Hamas and hold the dream of destroying Israel as their raison d’etre, and are still happy and proud to sacrifice their children as martyrs. To date, not one Gazan has informed on the whereabouts of the hostages, so that alone tells a sorry tale.
The Abraham Accords that promised so much stability for the region is now shaky and Washington are not pleased. The hostage families were horrified as the prospect of a deal to release their loved ones disintegrated, and they rightly fear for their lives. They are now camping outside the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem.
The Arab world is gathering in unity since the Qatar attack , and are trying to form an united defence policy similar to NATO against Israel. Egypt are making some very worrying noises as is Jordan, but both countries have their own challenges just managing their own security, so they would be ill advised to start any manoeuvres against Israel.
The UN , of course, has met to condemn Israel’s attack on Qatar, but is yet to meet to condemn Yemen’s virtually daily attacks on Israel. Since March the Houthi in Yemen have launched 84 ballistic missiles and 37 drones. This is a country sponsored by Iran thousands of miles away from Israel who continues to send random missiles on civilian areas in an attempt to kill people. Israel has an argument with Qatar as they are involved and protecting Hamas, Israel had no argument with Yemen until they commenced hostilities.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in Israel and will be visiting Qatar next, and can hopefully pour “oil on troubled waters” and diffuse the situation.
Israel is making, what could be, a last stab at destroying Hamas by this new offensive into Gaza City, destroying high rise buildings that the Hamas had been using as observation points from which to attack the IDF and to hijack the aid lorries.
In this latest offensive Israel has struck 850 terror targets and 30 buildings have been destroyed. The civilians are trying to make their way to the newly designated safe zone, but the Hamas are trying to prevent them, cynically placing them in danger so Israel can be blamed.
The whereabouts of the hostages, of whom only 20 are thought to be alive, has not been made public, even if the IDF are aware. As we now pass 711 days since the invasion of Israel, 48 are still held in Gaza and nearly 2,000 Israelis have lost their lives. The whole country has been traumatised from the over 32,000 projectiles that have been fired at a nation the size of Wales.
The treatment of Israel who is fighting a war of survival by the EU and UN is unprecedented . There is no action that is deemed allowable to defeat Hamas and defend the country. The EU and the UN have declared themselves enemies of the state and are using every diplomatic tool at their disposal to make sure that Israel doesn’t win this war. The country is demonised and held to a standard no other country is held to . Gaza seems to be the only subject on everyone’s lips and is causing chaos worldwide and Israel is finding herself very isolated on the world stage.
Jews understand fully they have no future in Europe or Australia if Israel falls. The anti-semitism is rife but they know they do have a welcome in Israel. In today’s modern world 17 countries in the world refuse entry to Israelis and the Eurovision Song Contest is calling to join !
If we ignore history it is bound to repeat itself : Jews have been chased out of England (1290), France on several occasions , Spain (1492) , Portugal (1497), The German States and Italy, Eastern Europe and Russia, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Algeria, and the Arab lands. Millions have been slaughtered, so anyone who thinks that Israel is going to give up this fight for survival doesn’t understand the Jewish determination to survive.
Kind Regards
Carolyne Davis