After intense international outrage and hectic diplomacy, Israeli and Palestinians have started abiding by a ceasefire but the 11-day mayhem in Gaza has once again raised concerns about the future of the Middle East and its implications for world peace.
World leaders, especially from some Muslim-majority states and the United Nations underscored the need for rebuilding lives and infrastructure in Gaza.
Matthias Schmale, who represents the UN relief agency for Palestinians UNRWA, saw no prospects of “going back to normal” in Gaza.
The rockets fired by Palestinian militant group Hamas and heavy Israeli bombardment on residential buildings, schools, and medical facilities including the only COVID-19 testing laboratory, closed aid routes and left more than 250 people killed and thousands injured.
The United States also spearheaded diplomatic efforts with President Joe Biden making half a dozen calls to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and also spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel accepted the Egyptian initiative to end hostilities that ended the worst violence in the region. Pakistani and Turkish top diplomats also made extensive efforts to mobilize a response to the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The bombing on Gaza displaced thousands and killed children and women, destroying families in the already fragile Gaza Strip, and the devastation led to calls for immediate humanitarian aid for the people.
“Going back to normal life means having to watch very carefully where we are going; unexploded devices, we know that at least one school, one of our 278 schools, where we have established two deeply buried bombs, and we have alerted the Israeli authorities”, Matthias Schmale said.
“Obviously, we cannot just rush back into our buildings and schools, we have to make sure they’re safe.”
The Kerem Shalom crossing, according to officials, was due to open for several hours on Friday but that for the duration of the clashes, it had not been possible to get people out for medical treatment, or aid reinforcements in.
I welcome the ceasefire between Gaza & Israel, after days of deadly hostilities.
All sides must observe this ceasefire.
Israeli & Palestinian leaders have a responsibility beyond the restoration of calm to start a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict. pic.twitter.com/VQHQMpadY8
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 21, 2021
Besides immediate relief and reconstruction help, the region needs a political resolution to the long-running Middle East dispute as the recent attempts to kick Palestinians out of their homes Sheikh Jarrah area of Jerusalem by settler Jews again highlighted.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a meaningful political process to resolve the grievances of both Palestinians and Israelis.
“Normality here also means 50 per cent employed and rising…I’m convinced after being here two and a half years that we will be back in war unless underlying causes are not addressed; and from a Gaza perspective that means giving people and especially young people a dignified perspective of a dignified life”, explained Matthias Schmale.
“If you have your own money and take home your own money to buy food instead of depending on handouts from the UN”, the top UN official added, “you’re less likely to run into groupings like Hamas”.
Happening Now: President Biden delivers remarks on the Middle East. https://t.co/AhiMfYPyhs
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 20, 2021
The UN has reported that more than 450 buildings in the Gaza Strip were completely destroyed or damaged by missiles, the statement continued. Among them were six hospitals, nine healthcare centres and a water desalination plant, supplying around 250,000 Palestinians with clean drinking water, as well as a tower which housed media outlets including the Al Jazeera network, and Associated Press (AP).
The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, allocated $4.5 million towards the cost of meeting rising needs across Gaza on Friday. The money comes from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which is in addition to $14.1 million allocated on Thursday. It is expected that an inter-agency Flash Appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory will be issued next week.
U.S. President Biden, who faced growing domestic pressure with demonstrations and calls from Democratic leaders to reign in the Israeli use of heavy force, is also a supporter of two-state resolution.
Meanwhile, UN independent human rights experts on Friday called on all parties to the conflict in Gaza and Israel to respect the ceasefire, and urged an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the attacks on civilian populations and other “gross violations of human rights,”.
The experts pointed to the forced evictions of Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, in Occupied East Jerusalem, as the spark that set off a full-blown war.
They said that at least 222 people, including 63 children, were killed in Gaza and 12 people died in Israel as a result of the fighting.
The story was last pdated at 19:54 EST Sunday, May 23 with the addition of the UNSC consensus.
