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by Jack Khoury,
Even in Gaza, the figure was greeted with apathy. Many feel that death isn’t the worst thing that could happen to them.
On Monday, the Gaza health ministry’s announcement that the death toll in the enclave had reached 45,000 was met with indifference. The Arab and international news channels did not interrupt their programming with a special news bulletin because, at the end of the day, it’s just another number. And the number of people killed in Gaza hasn’t been a news story for some time.
Maybe it was even like this a few months ago, when the threshold of 20,000 dead was crossed. Maybe it will become a story again when it crosses the 50,000 mark. Could this inconceivable number get some attention and perhaps lead to an end to the bombardments and direct killing in Gaza? Even then, it would only put a stop to direct killing.
Death will continue to be a part of life in Gaza for many years to come. Babies still in their mothers’ wombs will be affected by the war’s consequences, as babies will be born into unbearable living conditions. The elderly who are dependent on medical treatment and medical services that no one can provide anymore will also suffer.
In Israel, no one cares about the number of dead. People will always doubt the credibility of the statistics coming from the Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas. The scenes of destruction and dead bodies will be met with the familiar reactions: Hamas started this war with its brutal assault on October 7; Hamas is holding the hostages and therefore must pay; not only Hamas, but all Gazans must pay – those who support Hamas and those who oppose it, and people who just want to live, all can die.
The dehumanization process of the Palestinians has been completed. In the war over the Israeli state of mind, Netanyahu has already achieved total victory.
Even among Gazans, there was little interest in the latest figures, and their expectations have also become very low. They know by now that Gaza doesn’t really interest anyone anymore. Attention had shifted to Lebanon, and then to Syria – that’s where the big story is now, with important repercussions for the region. What new is there to say about Gaza? The suffering is the same suffering, even if it keeps getting worse.
For many people in Gaza, at this point, death doesn’t seem like the worst thing that could happen to them. Despite the grief one’s family and friends will feel, at least with death, one won’t suffer anymore. Some people also believe they’ll end up in a better world. Whoever remains alive will only continue to suffer every day – from severe shortages of decent food and drinking water, and from the lack of basic services.
Gaza’s infrastructure is completely destroyed. A majority of its residents are facing another winter living in tents. A sack of flour or kilo of tomatoes costs a fortune in local terms – dozens of shekels for the most basic food items. And that’s assuming a person still has some way of earning or obtaining money, for example, like some merchants in Gaza. Otherwise, people’s savings have run out. Obtaining cash has become a huge challenge.
While there still remain some armed Hamas militants as well as militants from the other factions, most of the two million Gazans who are still alive don’t know who can save them from this catastrophe. They see no hope on the horizon.
Could it be the Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, who haven’t been able to agree on a joint committee for running Gaza after the war, and who are quarreling over what little remains in Gaza? Or perhaps the PLO, the umbrella organization for the Palestinians, which is essentially in a coma and not functioning? Maybe the PA and its forces, who are now fighting for control over the Jenin refugee camp?
Will it be the Arab and Muslim world, that has been condemning Israel for more than a year, but has no levers with which to exert pressure on it? Or, the ICC in The Hague, that is accused of antisemitism? Maybe, the enlightened world will help?
Gazans are looking to all of these for help, they are crying out to all of them. 45,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far, and thousands more are still buried under the rubble. Does anyone hear their cry for help?
Source: https://www.haaretz.com
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