Hamas,a Palestinian militia/ military group, took advantage of a chaotic political situation in Israel, and launched an offensive on Israel, killing hundreds of people, put at around 1,300, while taking away a number of hostages, estimated to be around 250. This attack was launched on the 7th of October, 2023, and is considered to be the deadliest attack on Israel since the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. Palestinians have always been under Israeli attacks through air strikes and ground invasions by troops. Hamas gave its reason for the attack on Israel, as the continued attacks by Israel on the Palestinian people. Some of these attacks include the raids on Islam’s third holiest site, the Al-aqsa mosque, as well as Jewish settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians for a long time have lived under the oppression of Israel, denying them the resolutions for a two state solution to the Israel/ Palestine conflicts. For decades, the Palestinians have been overpowered by the Israeli army, living under constant aerial attacks and troop invasions.
As of April 4th, 2024, the death toll of Palestinians, from reprisal attacks by the Israelis, has been put at 33,000, including 224 humanitarian aid workers. 70% of those killed are unarmed women and children. The Israeli attack on Gaza is said to be the world’s deadliest and largest genocide carried out in the modern world, killing women and children in hospitals and emergency healthcare facilities across the Gaza strip. The Israelis also mounted blockades to stop humanitarian aid from reaching the people of Gaza who have been under heavy aerial bombardments. They went to the extent of making airdrops of food items on the Gaza strip that ended up burning up the Gaza people that went out to pick the food items. Gaza has been turned into one huge grave strip. The whole world stood behind the people of Gaza, imploring the Israeli government to stop the killings. The continued attacks have made it abundantly clear that the Israeli attacks weren’t just reprisal attacks, but that the Israeli government wants a total annihilation of the Palestnian people. There was just no respite for the Palestinians as the politics of the Arabian Peninsula, between the Shiites and Wahabis stood in the way of any serious interventions from the Arab world.
On the 1st of April, 2024, Israel launched an attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria, in an unprecedented escalation of hostilities between the two countries. Iran lost a top commander along with other Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers. Since then, Iran had vowed to retaliate, and put an end to Israel’s attack on the Gaza strip. On the 13th of April 2024, true to its threat, Iran launched hundreds of drone attacks on Israel. It is believed to have subsequently launched missile attacks on Israel. The Jordanian authorities along with the US Airforce have been intercepting the drones and missiles passing through Jordan airspace towards Israel. Hezbollah, a Lebanese group has also joined in this massive offensive against Israel, launching its own drone attacks. Iran says its attack is being conducted on the strength of article 51 of the UN Charter pertaining legitimate defense. They were attacked by Israel and theirs is a reprisal.
Iran has been a leading actor and voice against the invasion of Gaza by the Israelis. It took the opportunity of its reprisal attack on Israeli, to warn them against their incursion and assault on Gaza. Images and videos of the Palestinians in Gaza depicts them in celebratory mood, since the news of the Iranian attacks. At last, someone is able to stand up to Israel. The Iranian attack has come to them as succour. For the first time, all aircraft, both manned and unmanned, have been withdrawn from the Gaza airspace. A ceasefire has been gifted to them courtesy Iranian attacks on Israel. The world of Palestinian sympathisers will breath a sigh of relief, from the pains, destruction and death visited upon the Palestinian people.
It remains to be seen whether the attacks on Israel will be continued or paused as reprisals to the attack on Iran’s embassy in Damascus. We would have a third world war in our hands, considering that both Iran and Israel are among the exclusive community of nations with nuclear weapons. Both countries have other world super powers behind them, with China and Russia lining up behind Iran, and the US and perhaps all of NATO countries behind Israel. Should this much anticipated warfare be escalated, the repercussions would be felt around the globe. For third world countries like ours, it could mean a spike in the prices of crude oil, and a scarcity of the energy source globally as well. They say when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. In this case, the grass may turn out to be well irrigated and nourished. We would do well to take advantage of the economics of it all, and not be drawn into any proxy wars of world super powers. The good thing is that we are far away from the conflict. The war, like most wars in recent world history, are political wars with massive economic gain. It would also be in our collective interest not to deem it a religious war, afterall the Arabian Peninsula is divided over their different sect affiliations, just as we are here. Eventually, reprieve has come the way of Palestinians and prayers around the world for them especially from the ramadhaan period, have been answered. Israel would have bigger fishes to fry. Palestine would be left alone for now. The US, Israel, Russia and China and perhaps the Arab world in tow, would be left to decide whether their war games in the last decade will come to an end, or they will further flex their muscles and supersonic warfare equipments.
By Tahit Ibrahim Tahir Talban Bauchi.
