Israel says it has found a base of the terrorist organization Hamas under al-Shifa hospital. Hannu Juusola says that the evidence presented so far has certainly been a disappointment to many.
Israeli forces stormed al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday. The Israeli army has said that it has found, among other things, weapons and a base of the terrorist organization Hamas under al-Shifa hospital.
– They [Israel] have sought to present significant evidence that it was a Hamas command center, as they said before they went there, but so far in this regard, this evidence presented has certainly been disappointing to many, says the Middle East professor Hannu Juusola from the University of Helsinki in the morning of .
According to Juusola, from there [al-Shifan sairaalasta] one does not get the impression that the discovery was in any way significant. However, he states that time will tell what will be found.
– From the point of view of patients, doctors and medical staff in general, the situation is the worst, says Juusola.
According to Juusola, the significance of Israel’s evidence regarding the discovery of the Hamas base is minor for Hamas. The pressure on Israel, on the other hand, is increasing.
– Hamas’s public image is so bad that it doesn’t change one way or the other, but Israel has something to lose here in the sense that the more it seems that it is using excessive military measures, the stronger the international pressure will be against Israel’s war, says Juusola.
Juusola continues that the pressure comes specifically from Western countries, the United States and Europe.
Only al-Ahli Hospital in operation in the northern parts of Gaza
Juusola says that the small al-Ahli hospital in the northern parts of Gaza would still be operational and all other hospitals would be more or less poorly functioning.
– In practice, health care in northern Gaza has collapsed, Juusola states.
Juusola continues that the hospitals in southern Gaza are again completely overloaded because the population has doubled.
According to Juusola, the northern part of Gaza in particular is largely being destroyed.
– If we look at what is happening in the big picture, a significant part of the Gaza area, above all the city of Gaza, is joining the ranks of the Arab cities that have been destroyed in recent years, says Juusola.
Juusola clarifies that it means that when the conflict calms down at some point, the Gazans will have nowhere to return.
– It significantly complicates practical arrangements after the end of the conflict, sums up Juusola.
According to Juusola, solving the conflict requires international will
As a solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, a two-state model has been proposed, among others by the US president Joe Biden through the agency of. However, Israel is not enthusiastic about this.
Juusola sees the only possibility in creating a strong enough international will to end the conflict.
– You can no longer control it or try to regulate how big the conflict is, says Juusola.
According to Juusola, the international community should impose peace on the region and put pressure on both sides.
– Unfortunately, until now, the pessimists have always been right about this conflict, states Juusola.
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