After tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Gaza, and outrage against Israel has understandably grown around the world, Israel has made matters much worse for itself by killing seven aid workers, three of whom were British. They are seen above: John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby were providing security for the detachment of three cars carrying aid. The other aid workers were an Australian girl, Lalzawmi Frankcom, Damian Sobol from Poland, Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutahas, a Palestinian and a US-Canadian citizen, Jacob Flickinger.
There has been an international outpouring of anger and grief, as might have been expected. In Britain, as The Guardian says:
"David Cameron, the foreign secretary, spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, and requested an urgent explanation of the incident. A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister “was appalled… and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened”. The spokesperson added: “The prime minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable".
The Israeli government is unlikely to pay much attention to what Rishi Sunak says, as the amount of arms that the UK sells to Israel is small in comparison to that of the United States. President Biden, to his credit, has expressed his shock in very strong terms. As NBC News says:
"This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed," Biden said..."This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult — because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians."
Biden made no indication of how US arms sales to Israel might be affected but, again as NBC News says:
"The president's statement... comes as he faces growing criticism from progressives, Arab Americans and Muslims over his handling of the war. Some critics have urged Americans to “abandon Biden” at the ballot box or vote "uncommitted" in primaries."
There has been some media comment about the fact that over 30, 000 Palestinians have already died, but it has taken three British deaths to galvanise widespread anger about Israel's actions. And, in fact, it will be innocent Palestinians who suffer most as a consequence of this attack. Humanitarian bodies will be reluctant to work in Gaza out of fear for the safety of their staff. World Central Kitchen, for example, the charitable organisation which the seven slain aid workers worked for, is suspending its operations in Gaza to protect its workers. This could well lead to famine among Palestinian civilians.
I marvel at the fact that the Israeli government has failed to see that goodwill towards Israel worldwide is diminishing, to say the least. The deaths of these aid workers is only one incident among many that has led to condemnation. Whatever the eventual outcome or "settlement" of this war will be, Israel has created a huge amount of lasting enmity against itself. And some people will be very pleased about that...
From the paucity of news emanating from the front line, caused largely by the fact that foreign journalists are not allowed into Gaza, it appears that there is little actual fighting in the combat zones. It seems that Hamas fighters, like the one above, are hiding in tunnels, emerging to attack the IDF only when sure of a successful outcome. This has shades of the British Army's experience in Ulster. Shades of the American experience in Viet-Nam and the French experience in Algeria also, can be found in reports that the IDF troops are becoming bored, resentful and trigger-happy. This might explain why the IDF gunned down three escaping Israeli hostages trying to reach Israeli lines.
If my analysis of Hamas strategy and their intentions in launching the October 7th attack is correct (and I think it is), they will be very pleased at how deeply the Israelis have dug a pit for themselves. Whether they be in their Gaza tunnels, or luxury flats in Qatar, Hamas operatives must be laughing themselves to sleep at night.
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