The images of the carnage in Gaza are hard to look at. Innocent men, women and children maimed and dead are scenes only the deeply depraved could welcome. And the destruction continues apace, with The Guardian reporting this morning that 14,000 babies could die in the next 24 hours of starvation.
In the midst of this darkness has come a small ray of light. Canada, the UK and France are saying enough is enough. The three countries
threatened action against Israel if it does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions, piling further pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli military announced the start of a new operation on Friday, and Mr. Netanyahu said earlier on Monday that Israel would take control of the whole of Gaza. International experts have already warned of looming famine.
“The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law,” said a joint statement released by Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We oppose any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank,” the statement said, adding later: “We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions.”
They have every reason to act.
Earlier that day, Israel’s military declared an entire city a combat zone, airstrikes killed more than 60 people, and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said Israel’s army would “wipe out” what remains of Palestinian Gaza.
Has there ever been a more bald statement of genocidal intent?
Bowing a little to international pressure, Netanyahu is allowing a trickle of aid:
.... the UN said nine trucks of aid had been cleared to enter. This is less than 2% of daily shipments before the war, when Palestinians in Gaza were well fed and the strip had its own agricultural sector, and will make no meaningful difference to the crisis now gripping most of its 2.3 million population.
Even that miniscule amount was too much for some.
Netanyahu’s decision to allow even a trickle of food in to Gaza had been attacked by far-right critics including members of his own cabinet. On Monday he shared a video on social media explaining his hand had been forced by close allies.
Back here at home,
Fen Hampson, chancellor‘s professor and professor of international affairs at Carleton University, said Monday’s trilateral statement still represents a “shot across the bow” of Israel from three nations driven by profound humanitarian concern for those in Gaza. It also underscores Mr. Carney’s desire to rebuild transatlantic ties in a meaningful way at a time when Canada is facing challenges from its closest ally, the U.S.
Whether any of this will make a difference, given that Israel seems only concerned about U.S. support, remains to be seen. The trilateral statement, however, is a welcome voice of sanity and morality puncturing what has been, up to now, the West's deafening silence amidst the genocidal war Israel has been waging since October 7, 2023.
