At Peace SOS, we are in contact with a family in Gaza who provided vegetables to local vulnerable people in Gaza before war broke out there. They have two small children and have been evacuated nine times, each time looking for a place where they might be safe. The mother in the family recently asked herself what crime she had committed to end up in this war. She also condemned the horrific attacks by Hamas on 7 October last year. A few days ago, her husband reported that many cries of distress were being heard in Jabalia, in northern Gaza. The situation is catastrophic, the man informed me, and he sent me a shocking picture he had found on Facebook. I stared at the lifeless bodies of a man and a young child. They were enveloped in dust. Why do people do this to each other? This time, I did not end my message to him with the words, ‘may there come a ceasefire and humanitarian aid soon and the release of the hostages.’ Still, I assumed everyone was still working hard to achieve this.
Today, however, I read a report on the website of the Dutch national broadcaster NOS last night in which Qatar’s prime minister declared that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip had not been negotiated for weeks. According to NOS, the last attempt to reach an agreement broke down, partly because of new demands by Israel to keep military personnel in the Gaza Strip after the war. Israel’s liquidation of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh at the end of July has not made negotiations any easier either, NOS reports.
Negotiations are very urgent, however, not only based on from the family’s reports. On the day I write this, Israel carried out an airstrike on a school complex in Jabalia. Reuters news agency, based on Gazan authorities, speaks of 19 dead. The school in question was reportedly run by UN organisation UNRWA, according to NOS. A UN report said, among other things, that according to WHO, 498 attacks had been carried out by Israel on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip. Hospitals are also being used by Palestinians to shelter from Israel’s hostilities. Israel indicates that Hamas used the hospitals for military purposes. By holding the hostages captive, Hamas is also committing war crimes, the UN report says. The hostages are treated very badly, with, for example, physical violence and forced isolation being implemented. The UN recommends, among other things, that the government of Israel stop bombing medical facilities and start taking measures to prevent genocide, in line with the recommendations of the International Court of Justice. Furthermore, the UN recommends de facto authorities in Gaza and the government of Palestine to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages. It is definitely worth reading all the recommendations.
Surely the Netherlands is an ally of Israel? Why do we not urge Israel to negotiate, both when it comes to Gaza and Lebanon? Why are we still supplying weapons – that kill so many innocent children and other civilians – to Israel? We should also urge other parties to the conflict not to supply weapons to the warring parties and ask them to plead for negotiations. Hamas attacks kill so many innocent civilians that they fuel violence. It does not make Israel any safer. For instance, the United States recently deployed heavy B-2 bombers in attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen. The Houthis express support for the Palestinians in Gaza. If there is a ceasefire in Gaza, it will also have positive implications for other international relations in the region.
As I wrote earlier, it is time to break the circle of violence and trauma and be replaced by a circle of healing and peace. For too long we have been waiting for a ceasefire in Gaza, humanitarian aid, the release of hostages and proper treatment and due process of Palestinians detained in Israel.
As adults, the first thing we should do together is to care for all children, and for each other and nature. Let us cherish life and work towards: A World Where All Children Can Play.
May-May Meijer, chair Peace SOS
Note: This article was published in Dutch under the title ‘Denk aan de Palestijnen en gijzelaars in Gaza en onderhandel’ on the Joop BNNVARA website on 17th October 2024.
Photo: The man of the family and his son who fled their home in Gaza. “There is no safe place in Gaza,” they told me.