Column by Mahfuz Anam: From largest open-air prison to 'greatest open-air graveyard'

The heading is a reference to the comments of EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at the opening of an EU conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza in Brussels on March 17. "In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine but in a state of famine affecting thousands of people." The EU has accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which formally declares famine, said two of its three criteria have already been met. It believes that the third, the number of deaths by starvation, may already be in effect. After the killing of 32,000 Palestinians, of which 13,500 were children, the rest are being starved to death. Their health stands already damaged enough that they may never return to a normal, healthy life.

However unjust the world has been with its discrimination, exploitation, repression, and killings, we have never before seen anything close to the barbarity that Israel is now inflicting upon unarmed Palestinians. The only imagery that comes to mind is what the Nazis did to the Jews during the Holocaust. Where is the difference in what Israelis are doing to Gazans now?

Make a mental picture of what's going on. The Gaza Strip is 41 km long and 6-12 km wide, with a total area of 365 sq-km which is comparable to Dhaka's area of 306.4 sq-km. (But of course, hosting a vastly lower population). Now, imagine that all the population of north Dhaka was forced, under threat of being killed, to gather in the southern half and then is indiscriminately bombed day and night. Imagine that almost all the buildings of north Dhaka stand destroyed and nearly half of those in the south are razed to the ground. Those that remain are unsafe. All the roads are unusable. There is no electricity and no water. And the whole place is filled with the stench of the dead buried under the rubbles. Those who survived the initial bombing and remained trapped died, one day at a time; shouting, then crying, then whispering to loved ones above who could not remove the rubble and save them due to lack of equipment. Can anyone live a normal life after seeing their loved ones die within reach of themselves, pleading for water and help while they could do nothing? This is the reality—now far worse and getting worse still—that every Palestinian in Gaza is having to live with.

Imagine also that all the hospitals in Dhaka were bombed. Doctors were killed, assaulted, and picked up as pro-Hamas suspects. Consider that in the whole of Dhaka, there is no hospital to go to, there is no supply of medicine or medical aid. There is nothing to treat the injured who inevitably have to die literally in their loved one's arms. Imagine also that there is a total ban on the supply of everything, including food, water, and other essentials.

Will the world just watch and utter some appropriate platitudes from time to time? Are we to remain silent as we see all the values, morals, and ideals that our civilisation represents being torn to bits by the blood-thirsty regime of Netanyahu? South Africa has set a laudable example by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice. We see massive outpouring of protest in faraway countries in South America, we see heartwarming gatherings of hundreds and thousands in many capitals of Europe. But we do not see similar protests in Africa and Asia, including South Asia. What is most disappointing is the role of the Arab countries.

After weeks of total ban, a trickle of food and essentials were allowed. When starving Palestinians gathered in line to collect some food, they were gunned down. This was an event that we did not cover much in Bangladeshi media—the slaughter of 115 starving Palestinians who had lined up for flour and water on February 29 in the southeast of Gaza city and were machine-gunned by Israeli soldiers. Popular US commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano said to Nobel Prize-winning economist Jeffrey Sachs in a recent interview: "This has got to be one of the most reprehensible and public slaughtering that they've [Israeli soldiers] engaged in." Consider the brutality, the utter inhumanity in shooting down people waiting in line for food. The Israeli narrative, that much of the West swallowed, is that Palestinians started rioting and Israeli troops started firing when they felt threatened. Is it possible that emaciated food seekers suddenly become so strong and organised as to become a threat to those who are heavily armed, well-protected, and stationed in heavily guarded bunkers? The well-established Western media, instead of tearing this untenable and fact-defying narrative to bits, gave it currency.

Last Sunday, Unicef reported that 13,000 children have been killed till date, which its Executive Director Catherine Russell told CBS News was "astronomical" and "horrifying," adding that many children affected by malnutrition "don't even have the energy to cry." She said how "thousands [of children] have been injured. They may be stuck under rubble. Thousands have lost one or both parents… they are just by themselves managing their younger siblings."

Dr Jeffrey Sachs said, "Israel has deliberately starved the people of Gaza. Starved. I'm not using an exaggeration. I am talking literally starving a population. Israel is a criminal, is in non stop war crime status now. I believe, in genocidal status…"

Take the latest situation in Rafah, a small Gazan border town with Egypt where more than a million and half of the two million Gazans have gathered as a result of Israeli bombing. The Israeli military, on March 15, approved plans to invade Rafah and the Israeli prime minister announced on March 17 that no amount of international pressure will stop him from doing so.

What does ground invasion of Rafah mean? Again, using the example of Dhaka, imagine that in some corner of the city about 15 lakh people—helpless, homeless, starving—have gathered under the open sky. They are waiting to be invaded within days by what can be termed as one of the most brutal armies in the world. Not to mention lethal bombs will rain on them from planes and drones.

Scenes from the bombing of Tokyo, London, and Dresden during World War II, and even the bombing of Vietnamese and Cambodian villages during the Viet Nam war, surface in our minds. But they were wars, and the fighting was between sovereign countries or well-established guerilla outfits. Not a country, armed to the teeth, against a civilian population.

First, the indiscriminate bombing and invasion of Gaza, and now planned ground assault on Rafah against 1.5 million defenceless refugees. It will be nothing short of mass slaughter turning Gaza into the biggest graveyard in the world. This attack will be carried out by soldiers who have been totally desensitised against Palestinians, who have been taught to think of them as non- humans and belonging to some lower species who do not deserve the minimum dignity that a human being does.

Will the world just watch and utter some appropriate platitudes from time to time? Are we to remain silent as we see all the values, morals, and ideals that our civilisation represents being torn to bits by the blood-thirsty regime of Netanyahu? South Africa has set a laudable example by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice. We see massive outpouring of protest in faraway countries in South America, we see heartwarming gatherings of hundreds and thousands in many capitals of Europe. But we do not see similar protests in Africa and Asia, including South Asia. What is most disappointing is the role of the Arab countries. It is the same people. It is happening in their own backyard and has been happening for so long. The history is clear. Over the years, Arab countries have lost more clout and the reverse is true for Israel, whose power and influence has become unchallengeable. The only solution is through negotiations and not war. But the Arab countries are losing their negotiating power with each passing day. If Israel is able to inflict such barbaric actions on Palestinians, what respect will be left for the Arab countries?

A similar question comes upon us. Why have we not had massive public demonstrations condemning what Israel is doing? Why have we been so restrained in expressing our solidarity with the people of Gaza? As a political leader and head of government, our PM has made some very bold statements. But why haven't we, as a people, done as much? Why haven't our intellectuals, the academia, writers, and artists spoken out more? Only in the social media space have we seen vocal protests, for which I praise our young. We, the media, have covered the events but haven't done enough either. We should have done much more.

With each Palestinian who is killed, Israel loses its legitimacy, the West its moral standing, and the rest of us, remaining silent, our humanity.

Mahfuz Anam is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star.

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