International pressure on Israel to refrain from a ground offensive is growing. Even the United States, traditionally its closest ally, is calling on Israel to spare the lives of civilians in Gaza. In the meantime, the situation there is becoming more dire and the border with Egypt is still closed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived back in Israel on Monday, where he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken has been engaged in crisis diplomacy in the Middle East since last week and previously visited Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas.
Can you eradicate Hamas with your hand on the brakes? According to diplomatic expert Robert van de Roer, this strategic question is central to the discussions that the American government is currently conducting in the Middle East. “Antony Blinken is currently playing a simultaneous chess match. As chief of diplomacy, he tests support for Israel’s self-defense and America’s political and military support in the region. For example, the conversations that Blinken had last weekend in Egypt and Saudi Arabia showed that the leaders of these countries prominently discussed the fate of the Palestinians and certainly did not give Israel license to attack Gaza en masse.”
World community response
We don’t know the answer yet, but that will probably become clear during the week
The current position of the more than 2.2 million Gazans plays an important role, according to Van de Roer. “Israel’s military approach and the humanitarian situation in Gaza dictate the response of the world community. The Americans are well aware of this. You see the tone of the Biden administration subtly changing and moving along. Their statements are no longer just about the terrible consequences of the Hamas attacks in Israel, but also the humanitarian misery in Gaza is receiving increasing attention.”
According to the diplomatic expert, it is one tour de force for Blinken to prevent the conflict from expanding (militarily) in the region. “Can the Americans get Israel to restrain itself to prevent the army from launching a ground offensive in Gaza? We don’t know the answer yet, that will probably become clear during the week.”
In any case, the Israeli armed forces say they are ready for an armed struggle on two or more fronts. According to an army spokesman, reinforcements have already been sent to the northern border with Lebanon, after repeated attacks by the Hezbollah movement. The spokesman said Hezbollah was trying to weaken Israeli army efforts in other places. According to Israel, the organization receives help from Iran and is also controlled by that country.
Death certificates
The situation in Gaza itself is getting worse by the day. World Health Organization WHO warns that there is only one day of water, electricity and fuel left in the besieged Gaza Strip. If help is not forthcoming, doctors will only be able to issue death certificates, the WHO said.
Humanitarian and medical aid is at a standstill in Egypt’s border area with the Gaza Strip due to the lack of an agreement between Israel and Egypt. Why doesn’t Egypt just open the border? Historian Peter Malcontent, who specializes in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, says the issue is complicated for Egypt.
“The gate will really open for relief supplies at some point, but admitting refugees is a sensitive matter. Egypt is not interested in a tent camp in the middle of the desert, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be housed. The Egyptian army is already struggling to keep this enormous area under control. The Sinai desert has been a refuge for armed extremists for years.”
Hamas fighters in Egypt
According to Malcontent, the fact that Egypt has kept the border closed so far also has to do with the question of whether refugees will ever return to Gaza. “And you can bet that if they admit refugees, there will also be Hamas fighters among this group. The Egyptian regime of al-Sisi does not think much of Hamas. This mainly has to do with the fact that Hamas is an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers, who are seen as villains by Cairo.
“You have to make a difference here between the regime and the Egyptian population. Egyptians are very pro-Palestinian and have much less sympathy for Israel. So for al-Sisi it is and remains a complicated issue, he also wants to prevent his population from turning en masse against him. Ultimately, I think that under the leadership of the US – especially if they come up with a bag of money – there will be a deal between Egypt and Israel to provide aid to Gaza. But completely open the border to refugees? No, that’s not going to happen.”
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.