Gaza bombing: It is time for all of us to say, this must stop now!

I have a psychologist friend who always tells his patients when they experience a crisis to think where they want to end and work backwards from there. 

I am reminded of this every time I watch or read something about the ongoing crisis in Gaza.  Before I go any further, I want to emphasize – as I have done before – that the acts of Hamas on 7 October were despicable acts of terror. Nothing can ever justify what they did and my heart aches for all of those who lost loved ones or are living with the terror of their family members being held hostage. 

However, the ongoing actions of the Israeli government and army is equally unjustifiable.

As I have said before, Israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not have the right – morally or in terms of international law - to bomb hospitals, ambulances, UN schools and civilian neighbourhoods.

Neither do they have the right – morally or legally – to cut off water, food, medical and fuel supplies. 

Of course, the Israeli government insists that they only engage in precision bombing when and where they know Hamas soldiers are hiding or operating from.  However, the images of thousands of dead and severely injured children on even the most pro-Israeli TV networks make a mockery of this crude form of political spinning. 

In response to criticism, Israel continues to blame Hamas for using children and women as human shields. No one seemed to have been able to collaborate this, but even if it is the truth, how dare Israel knowingly go ahead and still bomb these targets? Do they just see the children, women and elderly as collateral damage?

I have also been wondering how it is that Israel now suddenly has the capability to know exactly where Hamas is hiding and where their tunnels run, yet were totally caught by surprise on 7 October? 

Benjamin Netanyahu says that the explanation will come later. Why later? Surely, the families of those killed and abducted deserve an answer now? In fact, he owes the world an explanation as to why this was not prevented. Israel has one of the most advanced intelligence agencies and defense systems in the world. Yet, a bunch of guys succeeded in flying into Israel on little motorized paragliders, while others shot out cameras at border posts – not exactly a sophisticated attack?

Some security analysts claim that the Israelis knew something was coming and deliberately neglected to act. Others accept that their intelligence failed and that the resulting embarrassment are a motivating factor for their disproportional response. Either way, Netanyahu and his security operatives owe his nation and the wider world an explanation. 

While I’m on this topic, I wonder if someone can explain to me why the Israeli army with all its intelligence (which allows for their “precision” bombing) has not been able to free the hostages? 

But, let me get back to my original question, which is how we find the off-ramp to peace. 

Israel says that the only solution is to eradicate Hamas. Surely, they must know that it is totally impossible through military action. In fact, the longer Israel continues to flatten Gaza, the more civilians they kill, and the more human rights abuses they commit, the faster Hamas will grow. Angered by what they experience, young people will step in where others have fallen. Even if Israel kills every single person in Gaza, people in other areas will rise in response to Israel’s actions. 

Thus, the longer this continues the more dangerous the world will become for Israelis, Jewish people in general and large parts of the world. 

I believe that the vast majority of Jewish people are horrified by the loss of innocent lives in Gaza and many are starting to object publicly. In recent days there have been protests by Jewish people at the Statue of Liberty, Capitol Hill in Washington, and New York Grand Central Station. 

These are brave people who understand that objecting against what is happening in Gaza does not mean that one is antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Instead, they understand that the Israeli mothers who have lost their children through Hamas’ actions feel the same pain as the Palestinian mothers who have lost their children through Israeli bombings.

They understand that peace can only come when the bombs stop, the guns are put away and talks start. They also know that the only way to truly get rid of terrorist organisations is to take away the reasons for their existence. 

I find it almost impossible to watch the images from Gaza anymore. Watching children screaming in agony from injuries, seeing toddlers clinging to their dead mothers and teenagers shaking with shock as they kiss their dead parents’ goodbye is just too much to bear. Yet, as I put off my TV, I’m haunted by the fact that the mothers and children of Gaza have no way of escaping these horrors. 

Those who want the violence to continue will use long and well-known historical narratives to explain why all of this is happening, but let’s be honest: no historical context or political explanation from either side in this conflict can justify what is now going on in Gaza. 

It is time for all of us to say: “This must stop now!”