Israel Palestine Conflict

Tonight, we turn our attention to Operation Protective Edge, in Gaza. In the span of just eight days, thousands died, hundreds of thousands fled their homes, and two sides are accusing the other of committing war crimes against humanity.

Thursday morning of last week, we woke up to find out that Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Forces invading Gaza with a ground attack, on a mission to eradicate the highly-advanced labyrinth of Hamas tunnels that lead into the West Bank.

On Tuesday, Israel rained down on Gaza with airstrikes and heavy artillery from tanks. Netanyahu offered his apology to the world for the death of so many civilians, but justified his attack against people he called “Mad Islamists.” He accused Hamas of committing double war crimes, saying they target civilians and they also hide behind civilians as shields during battle. The same day, the Israeli navy lined up in the Mediterranean and pelted more missiles into Gaza.

Wednesday morning, the Palestinian death toll passed 700 and Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said the fighting had to stop. He urged Netanyahu to relent.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon later joined up with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Jerusalem to try and quell the assault.

Video footage of Israeli missiles rocking a civilian hospital went viral,

An explosion near Tel-Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport put a hold on all incoming flights, compliments of a ban by the FAA. They lifted their ban, only before Hamas troops fired three more rockets into the same airport today.

Yesterday was the bloodiest day in Gaza this week. Khaled Mishal, the Hamas leader-in-exile, said he is open to the idea of a truce in Gaza if Israel would end their siege of the area. The United Nations spoke up after they found that Israel gave them enough reason to believe they may have committed international war crimes.

Now, over 800 Palestinians have died. At least 5,200 people have been brutally injured. This morning, over ten thousand Palestinians living in the West Bank started a protest and at least 200 of them were injured by Israeli police forces.

Bloodshed escalates as diplomacy continues. Unconfirmed reports are starting to come out that Israel and Hamas are considering a humanitarian ceasefire before official peace talks take place.

The last ceasefire between the two rivals lasted only two hours. Even if both sides set their weapons down, there might still be a heavy price to pay. Today, a French lawyer filed an official complaint against Israel with the International Criminal Court on behalf of Palestine. The ICC will have to make a ruling on the charges.

Regardless of what has happened in the past, these two opponents are living in extremely close quarters. Their cultures intertwined, their clashing incessant. It’s going to take a lot more than a few statesmen around a conference table to bring lasting peace to the Middle East.