There Must Be a Ceasefire in Gaza Now

Conflict benefits hardliners and fanatics, and ceasefires benefit the civilian population that is caught in the middle of the fighting.

The IDF bombed the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza yesterday, killing scores of people and injuring many more, and then it attacked the same camp again today. Describing the destruction caused by the second attack, Yousef Munnayer wrote, “Another massacre in Jabaliya refugee camp as Israel once again wipes out entire apartment blocks with massive bombs. People now trying to search the rubble for any survivors.” Israeli authorities claim that they were targeting a Hamas commander with the first attack, but there is no justification for striking such a crowded civilian area, much less striking it two times in a row.

There is no question that Israeli forces were responsible for the attacks on the camp, as they admitted it themselves. These attacks are grave violations of international law, and they are just two of the many war crimes that have already been committed by Israeli forces. If the Biden administration had an iota of courage, they would condemn these attacks in the strongest terms and hold the perpetrators accountable. Our government’s support for this war is outrageous and must end. Congress should reject any further requests for military aid. All current U.S. military assistance to the IDF should cease at once.

The Israeli military campaign has already caused more than 8,000 deaths in Gaza, including over 3,000 children killed. According to Save the Children, more children have been killed in the current war in Gaza in the last three weeks than have been killed annually in armed conflicts worldwide for the last three years running. Since children make up half the population of Gaza, it was guaranteed that a brutal, indiscriminate bombing campaign like this one would kill huge numbers of them, and so it has. The longer that this war is allowed to continue, the higher the death toll of innocent victims will be.

The administration line is that a ceasefire only benefits Hamas, but that is risible nonsense. The people killed in the refugee camp would have benefited from a ceasefire, and so would the thousands of others killed in the war before them. So would the thousands more that are going to die in the coming weeks if the war continues. Conflict benefits hardliners and fanatics, and ceasefires benefit the civilian population that is caught in the middle of the fighting.

There must be an immediate ceasefire now. A ceasefire is necessary both to halt the daily slaughter of civilians and to facilitate the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid. It would also buy time and space to negotiate for the release of the hostages that are still being held.

If the Israeli government presses ahead with its campaign, and if the U.S. continues to enable it, they will both be responsible for a massive civilian death toll that will bring disgrace on both of our countries.