‘On all fronts, this has become a war of attrition’
Andreas Krieg, an associate professor at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, says the wars raging in Lebanon and Palestine are unlikely to end anytime soon as all actors believe they can win militarily.
“Neither side is at the point on the battlefield where they feel the military pressure is unbearable. I think they believe they can sustain it or potentially benefit from keeping it going. On all fronts, this has become a war of attrition where it’s a test of resilience,” Krieg told Al Jazeera.
He said fighters opposing Israel’s army in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Lebanon are inflicting casualties on Israeli forces, and the question is whether Israel can sustain the military pressure it faces on multiple fronts.
“And on the Iranian front, they’ve proven over the past 45 years to be the most resilient country when it comes to sanctions and military pressure as well. Their threshold for pain is much higher than it is in Israel,” said Krieg.
The less people have left to lose, the harder they will resist. The fight to erase to will to be free has never succeeded.
Situation in northern Gaza ‘beyond catastrophic’: UNRWA official
Sam Rose, director of planning at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, says people in Gaza “are facing absolutely unimaginable conditions”.
They have been going through “12 months of war, repeated displacement, bombardment, loss of life, loss of property, deprivation and lack of food and water”, he told Al Jazeera from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
“What we have seen over the past two weeks has taken it to another level in terms of the intensity of the bombardment and military operations,” Rose said.
“It is very difficult to get a precise read on what is going on due to the closure and the way the area is strangled, but every report we are getting suggests the situation up there for the approximately 175,000 people we estimate remaining is beyond catastrophic.”
Israel still blocks aid from reaching northern Gaza: UN
Israeli authorities continue to prevent humanitarian missions from reaching areas of northern Gaza with critical supplies including water, food, and medicine for people under siege.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), says hospitals have been hit and are without power while wounded people are left without care.
“UNRWA remaining shelters are so overcrowded, some displaced people are now forced to live in the toilets. According to reports, people attempting to flee are getting killed, their bodies left on the street. Missions to rescue people from under the rubble are also being denied,” he said.
“Denying and weaponizing humanitarian assistance to achieve military purposes is a sign of how low the moral compass is.”
#Gaza: the Israeli Authorities continue to deny humanitarian missions to reach the north with critical supplies including medicine and food for people under siege.
Hospitals have been hit and are left without power while injured people are left without care.@UNRWA remaining…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) October 21, 2024
