It has been six months this Sunday, April 7, since the Hamas attacks took place which left more than 1,100 dead in Israel and triggered an Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, the death toll of which exceeded 33,000. according to the authorities of the enclave. Strategically, Israel has not achieved its war goals.
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Eliminate Hamas from the gang Gaza and obtain the release of Israeli hostages. These are the war objectives claimed by Israel. But, after six months of conflict, the main leaders of Hamas in Gaza, starting with Yahya Sinouar, are still nowhere to be found. Marwan Issa is the only high-ranking executive of the movement to have been killed in the Palestinian enclave.
The question of hostages arouses anger and nightmares among those close to them
The ground operation that Israel is threatening to launch in Rafah in the south of the enclave has still not started and, six months after the attacks, talks for a truce and the release of hostages and prisoners are yielding nothing . Only three were released by the Israeli army; 130 are still in the Gaza Strip, of whom less than a hundred are believed to be alive. And it was only by indirectly negotiating with Hamas that Israel was able to obtain the exchange of around a hundred hostages last November.
At the Hostage Families Forum in Tel Aviv, created the day after October 7 to support hostage families and make their voices heard, the place is now deserted. Only the most daring remain, like Gil Dickmann. Her cousin Carmel Gat is held hostage in Gaza. “ We want them to come home now. That’s the most important thing. If we don’t fight for them, they will die there. We must fight for them. And I am convinced that thanks to our mobilization, we will find a way to free them “, he said.
But in Israel, the government has made the elimination of Hamas its main war objective. The release of the hostages comes second. “ Unacceptable », protests the 31-year-old young man. “ Let them sit down at the negotiating table and do what is necessary to put an end to all this. There is a way to free the hostages. We have already released some of them at the end of last November, thanks to the agreement that was concluded. Before that, no one believed it was possible. So, our managers must stop wasting time. They must sign a new agreement to bring back the hostages, and we can finally rebuild our lives. Because here we are living a nightmare. »
Families of hostages openly accuse Benjamin Netanyahu of torpedoing efforts to obtain the release of their loved ones.
A huge political cost
After the security fiasco of October 7, observers also attribute to Israel the objective of wanting to restore its deterrence capacity. It is probably used in strikes on Lebanon and Syria, to eliminate leaders of the Iranian forces and Hezbollah. But, in Gaza, the heavy toll of the bombings and the dramatic humanitarian situation that results from them have an enormous political cost: increasing isolation of the Jewish state and procedures piling up before international justice.
On Saturday April 6, the Palestinian movement Hamas also indicated that it “ would not give up » to his demands for a ceasefire with Israel, while announcing the sending of a delegation to the discussions planned in Cairo. “ The demands of our population and our national forces are a complete ceasefire, a withdrawal of the occupying forces from Gaza, the return of the displaced to their neighborhoods, freedom of movement, assistance and shelter for the population. And a serious hostage exchange deal », Indicates a press release from the Palestinian Islamist movement cited by AFP.
Another statement, that of the head of the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), Martin Griffiths, who asked that “ accountability for this betrayal of humanity » represented, according to him, by the six-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
After those six months, I lost everything. My school was destroyed. I don’t know if I’ll find work again… maybe in two years or four years, I don’t know. Gaza is completely destroyed. Our apartment was damaged by strikes.
[Témoignage] In the Gaza Strip, how to live in hell?
In the West Bank camps, the other front
Inside, in Israeli society, divisions resurface. Protests have resumed in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The demonstrators are demanding an end to the war, the return of the hostages, and even early elections.
For six months, there has been the front in Gaza, but there is also that, under the radar, in the occupied West Bank which lives paralyzed – and particularly its refugee camps – by a surge of various tragedies and daily mourning. This front is not new, Israel has been leading it for more than two years, but the raids have increased in number and intensity. The deaths number in the hundreds, residents speak of collective punishment, their infrastructure is targeted and their daily life made impossible.
There is no childhood here, it is stolen.
In Jenin, life suspended
South Africa, spearheading support for Palestinians before international justice
No dialogue is really possible between South Africa and Israel since Tel Aviv recalled its ambassador from Pretoria. The two countries are arguing before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. A court seized by South Africa to accuse Israel of genocide. In six months of war in Gaza, South Africa has never stopped showing its support for the Palestinian people. Several political parades were organized as civil society gatherings. One of them is also planned for this Saturday afternoon in front of the American consulate in Johannesburg.
In its judgment of January 26, the Court recognized a real and imminent risk of genocide. It called on Israel to take all measures in its power to prevent the commission of such acts.
On March 6, Pretoria again referred the matter to the Court of Justice to demand immediate measures to put an end to the fighting between Israel and Hamas. South Africa denounced Israel’s contempt for the measures already announced in January.
On March 28, the Court recognized that the disastrous conditions in which Palestinians in the Gaza Strip live have further deteriorated. The Court asked Israel not to hinder the distribution of basic services and food.
If South Africa’s requests had no effect on the ground, they restored confidence in Pretoria. Usually very critical of international institutions, South Africa has decided to test the impartiality of international justice in this conflict. It was partly heard by international institutions.