The Irish Independent's View: The tide has shifted on this medieval war in Gaza – it has to stop now
The UN is now an echo chamber for the world's conscience. Its urgent pronouncements on the need for immediate action to ease the plight of Palestinians scarcely even elicit attention.
Its latest message is that the wilful blocking of access to food and relief for civilians in Gaza may be a war crime. A UN statement said: 'For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site.'
It said attacks on civilians trying to access food aid were 'unconscionable'. In the latest outrage, at least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food station.
According to the Red Cross, its field hospital in Rafah had received 184 casualties, 19 of whom were declared dead on arrival. Eight more died from their wounds shortly after.
Videos from the scene showed injured people being taken to hospital, laid out on carts pulled by donkeys. Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said: 'Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime.'
Guns must be silenced and a ceasefire called to stop the killings. Hostages must be released immediately. The death and destruction is merely fuelling fires of hatred in the hearts of future generations.
It had become a 'private political war' and it had made Gaza a humanitarian disaster area
Last November, Israel's ousted defence minister Yoav Gallant said the army had achieved all its objectives in Gaza.
'There's nothing left in Gaza to do. The major achievements are achieved,' he said. 'I fear we are staying there just because there is a desire to be there.'
Last week, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said he believes the war in Gaza no longer has a clear goal and has gone too far.
He also said Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza and that 'thousands of innocent Palestinians are being killed, as well as many Israeli soldiers'. He further argued that it had become a 'private political war' and it had made Gaza a humanitarian disaster area.
The pandemonium is resulting in endless pain and suffering and can no longer be represented as either legitimate political or military policy.
Restriction of aid and the weaponisation of need and hunger belong to medieval times.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the idea is 'eventually to have a sterile zone in the south of Gaza where the entire population can move for its own protection'.
But public opinion is shifting against the fighting. Even US president Donald Trump has demanded the war be wound down. After 19 months of brutal bombardment, Israel must be compelled to stop.
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