In the aftermath of a harrowing night filled with haunting imagery emanating from Gaza’s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, I find myself at my desk to write my column, where I attempt to provide my two cents weekly on foreign policy issues affecting Türkiye or the region.
While I’ve navigated the complexities of hard-hitting topics for many years, today’s challenge weighs particularly heavy on me. This piece was meant to shed light on Israel’s inhumane assault on a hospital in Gaza, claiming the lives of at least 500 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, and leaving hundreds more injured.
However, in the face of images depicting a father holding bags filled with remains of his children’s bodies, words falter. How does one provide analysis when confronted with photos and videos where almost everything appears in pieces? What can be said that doesn’t echo the anguish felt by anyone with a sliver of humanity witnessing the tragedy in Palestine?
I do not aim to make grandiose claims about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East tensions or the broader implications for international power dynamics. Discussing Israel’s decadeslong history of violence, oppression, occupation and dispossession is one thing, but Tuesday’s attack represents a new echelon of aggression and tragedy unfolding before the world’s eyes.
Throughout human history, wars have been an unfortunate constant. Ethno-religious conflicts, battles over resources and territorial disputes have shaped our world since time immemorial. From ancient battles like Megiddo (1457 B.C.) and Kadesh in the 13th century B.C. to more recent conflicts such as the Bosnian genocide, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the ongoing strife in Syria, Libya, Yemen and Ukraine, humanity has witnessed a tapestry of bloody conflicts.
Yet, even in the chaos of war, there have been rules. Whether rooted in theological doctrines or contemporary ethical norms, these rules have guided societies and international affairs.
Under international humanitarian law, as outlined in the Geneva Convention, schools and hospitals are designated as protected civilian objects, and targeting them is strictly prohibited. Islamic principles advocate for avoiding harm, even to animals and plants. “Thou shalt not kill” is another guiding principle presented in one of the Ten Commandments in the Torah.
Despite these principles, the Israeli state has taken killing to another level by targeting a hospital as part of their long-standing apartheid regime against Palestinians. This act follows a series of indiscriminate attacks on residential areas, places of worship and schools. Gazans’ access to essential resources like water, food and electricity has been severed, and even convoys of those fleeing the cruelty have been bombed. The hospitals are even now running out of supplies to treat the injured let alone the insufficient availability of basic humanitarian needs.
The question remains: Who will intervene to halt Israel’s violent acts?
The supposed defenders of human rights, democracy and freedoms align themselves with Israel, ignoring the crimes committed against Palestinians. Western leaders race to express support for Netanyahu’s regime, failing to condemn attacks on civilians adequately.
The Western media, touted as “objective,” “unbiased” and “free,” has proven to be another disappointment in covering the Israeli military’s atrocities. From disseminating fake news to biased reports against Palestinians, the media has failed the test of objectivity in this critical moment. In addition, at least 11 journalists have been killed and more than 20 others have been injured. In fact, many journalists have been impacted by the restriction of the Israeli army, a block to the free press that has been exposing the developments. What is even sadder is that the Western media has fallen short of calling out the names of those responsible for the killings of the journalists working for them on the field.
This time, the Western leaders and the biased Western media have been caught red-handed and taking them seriously is now very difficult.
However, if there is still a chance to stop Israel from killing Palestinian women and children before more of them are either killed, injured or displaced, it is still the Western supporters of Tel Aviv that can do this necessary task.
Despite the challenges, the hope for a free Palestine must endure and diplomatic efforts must continue to stop the bloodshed. Türkiye, for instance, has actively engaged in shuttle diplomacy, seeking to ease immediate tensions and addressing issues like the release of hostages and humanitarian aid access to Gaza.
Ankara has proposed a guarantorship model to mitigate conflicts between the warring sides. The proposal suggests that regional countries would act as guarantors for the Palestinian side and Israeli sides would also have guarantors, providing a mechanism to prevent the escalation of tensions.
Ultimately, a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state established along the 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital, is presented as the ultimate goal.
As an immediate and tangible contribution, Ankara has also said that it is ready to send a hospital ship and field hospitals to Gaza after a brutal airstrike by Israel on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.
Meanwhile, the high-level U.S. visits to the region are significant; they fall short of addressing the core issues. Military deployments by the U.S. and U.K. risk exacerbating tensions when the focus should be on engaging influential actors like Türkiye to establish effective dialogue channels. In navigating this complex and historical problem, the mother of all problems, the way to a lasting solution demands a commitment to principles of justice, accountability and a genuine pursuit of peace.
