(Photo courtesy of Firstpost). “Trucks containing supplies head across Egypt border.”
Jonathan Hatem
Connector Staff
Over 4,100 Palestinians in Gaza have died due to Israel’s continued siege on the area, with over 13,000 wounded and over 1,000 Gazan residents missing.
Israel’s latest actions in Gaza are a response to an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas at the Supernova music festival in Israel that killed over 1,400 people. Hamas also took at least 200 Israelis hostage.
Israel’s response has included bombing Gaza, cutting off their supply of food, water and electricity as well as setting a blockade on humanitarian aid on both the Israeli and Egyptian borders. Israel also issued an evacuation order to the more than 1.1 million Palestinians living in northern Gaza.
On the evacuation notice, Dr. Deina Abdelkader, the director of Peace and Conflict Studies at UMass Lowell, said, “There were a lot of academics and people reporting from Gaza saying that this is psychologically reminding them of Nakba.”
Nakba refers to the events in 1948 that resulted in the establishment of the state of Israel. After the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, Zionist forces expelled at least 750,000 Palestinians and took control of 78 percent of historic Palestine. Between 1947 and 1949, Zionist forces killed over 15,000 Palestinians and destroyed around 530 Palestinian villages.
The forced movement of people living in northern Gaza to southern Gaza has resulted in buildings that can house 15 or more families, Dr. Abdelkader said.
Over 20 journalists have died since Oct. 7, primarily in Gaza. “I don’t think there’s targeting by Israel of press people because the targeting is indiscriminate. Hamas doesn’t wear a T-shirt saying, ‘Hamas’ on it,” said Dr. Abdelkader.
United States President Joseph Biden continued his support for the Israeli state with a visit on Oct. 18. The U.S. Department of State issued a notice to avoid using the phrases “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.”
Dr. Abdelkader said the U.S. position on Israel and Palestine has stayed consistent. The U.S. has given Israel more than $260 billion in military and economic aid since the creation of the state of Israel. Two U.S. aircraft carriers and their accompanying strike group have been sent to the region to support Israel, along with three marine warships. As of Oct. 17, five shipments of U.S. weapons have arrived in Israel.
Biden was able to negotiate 20 trucks of humanitarian aid to be allowed in Gaza. On this, Dr. Abdelkader said, “Trucks are a drop in a sea of need … For it to have taken that too long to go through is an issue.” She also said, “Israel is aware of the worsening human condition (in Gaza).”
Israel has cracked down on Israeli citizens and Palestinians in the West Bank that have shown support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
Dr. Abdelkader said the ability of people in the U.S. to follow the ongoing situation in Palestine and Israel has evolved as access to world media sources has increased. She stressed the importance of looking to multiple media outlets to understand any situation from different perspectives.
Dr. Abdelkader said there was talk in academic circles on how Islamophobia has influenced the response of the media and U.S. citizens. In the aftermath of 9/11, hate crimes on Sikh people rose despite their lack of connection to the attack or to Islam, Dr. Abdelkader said. On Oct. 15, Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian who lived near Chicago, was killed in an alleged hate crime.
On a potential resolution to this Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Dr. Abdelkader said, “The general feeling from talking to several colleagues is that there is no way out except resolution … more bloodshed will be the continuation of what we are seeing.”
