| While a lot of focus has been drawn to Rafah – Gaza’s southernmost city, where Israel has been conducting a ground invasion in the face of very strong international opposition to the operation – Israel has launcheda new ground and air assault in central Gaza, after having left the area months ago. At the very beginning of the war, Biden cautioned Israel against giving in to rage and repeating mistakes that the US had made after 9/11. “It was a clear reference to what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq, where we saw the initial declaration of military success – Saddam Hussein had been toppled, the Taliban had been defeated but then there were horrific insurgencies, with the biggest tragedy for the civilians in the region,” Emma says. It was a sentiment expressed recently by the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who said Israel’s conduct has put it potentially on track to “inherit an insurgency”. In some parts of Gaza, which Israel claimed to have cleared months ago, it looks like that is already happening. Some of the fiercest fighting in the war took place recently in Jabalia, the second most populous town in northern Gaza. Israeli military officials said forces were also operating in the far north in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia. After weeks of fighting, a displaced Palestinian who returned to the refugee camp described total destruction in an interview with BBC Arabic: “Even the sand beneath our feet is scorched; it’s unbearable to walk on.” Israel said the military returned to central Gaza because Hamas fighters were carrying out operations against Israeli troops in the area. “That’s pretty interesting because it means they have survived for more than eight months and they’re still operationally successful in an area that Israel was supposed to have already moved through,” Emma says. Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner said Israeli troops were facing “guerilla warfare” in the area. Emma says: “Israel may have technological superiority, but you see here a demonstration of why many experienced people were warning from the start that its stated goal of destroying Hamas completely is going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible.” Ceasefire pressures While the Israeli public is broadly still supportive of the war, there is a division between those who say the main priority is eliminating Hamas and those who believe hostage returns should come first. There is growing internal pressure from hostage campaign groups, who are gaining support from the general public. Such organisations are pushing for Netanyahu to take a ceasefire deal now to ensure the return of as many hostages as possible. At the same time, Israel’s prime minister is facing threats from the far-right faction of his government who have rejected the ceasefire deal and made it clear they are willing to topple Netanyahu’s coalition if he continues down that path. This political backdrop has not been lost on anyone, with hostage families accusing Netanyahu of prolonging the war for his own political self-preservation. Biden, Netanyahu’s closet ally, said in an interview that there is “every reason” to draw that conclusion. More broadly, international pressure is only increasing. Spain says it will join South Africa’s genocide case in the international court of justice against Israel, joining Ireland, Turkey, Egypt and several other countries that have already done so. As the war goes on, Israel’s position on the world stage gets worse and worse. The ceasefire is stuck between “two apparently immovable obstacles”. Emma says: “Israel says it won’t end the war until Hamas is destroyed. Hamas says they will not agree to a ceasefire unless it’s permanent. All the negotiations are an effort to thread the needle between those two positions.” The humanitarian crisis continues Amid the back and forth, Palestinians in Gaza continue to face catastrophic conditions. “Every day that the war continues, it moves in a direction of people getting hungrier, more people dying and things getting worse,” Emma says. As early as January, aid agencies said they believed there were pockets of famine in northern Gaza and, more recently, the US-based famine early warning system network (Fews Net) said it was “possible, if not likely” that famine was under way there in April. Food production systems have been obliterated and the entry of much humanitarian aid has been restricted by Israel. The UN has said 1.1 million people, nearly half the population in Gaza, face “catastrophic” levels of hunger, adding that the territory is on the brink of famine. It is important to note that famine has a precise definition – for it to be officially declared, at least 20% of families have to face an extreme lack of food, at least 30% of children must be suffering acute malnutrition, and two adults or four children per 10,000 people must die each day from hunger-related causes. “Some experts have pointed out that if you hover on the brink of famine for a long time, the scale of the damage is as bad or worse than a short duration of famine,” Emma says. Even though a new land crossing was opened in northern Gaza, improving access somewhat to aid, it is not enough and the main crossings in the south have been obstructed or entirely closed off. There has also been credible reporting that Israel has been prioritising commercial traffic over food aid through Kerem Shalom, meaning that a significant amount of the food that does get in is not going to the most vulnerable people as they cannot afford to buy it. “It’s not just the hunger, people have been living in horrific conditions where diseases are spreading, and there’s a lack of sanitation and waste disposal,” says Emma. “Imagine what it’s like to be a woman trying to deal with your period, there’s little water and no way to clean yourself. Many people have moved multiple times over the last seven months and are stuck in this cycle of horror and displacement.” | 