Monday, October 16, 2023

Israel-Hamas War: World leaders change tune on Palestine as death toll rises in Gaza

2 min read 16 Oct 2023
MINT
Devesh Kumar

Israel-Hamas war news: As a huge humanitarian crisis looms in the region, world leaders are reconsidering their positions and even Israel's strongest ally United States (US) is asking the Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government to be cautious
A view shows houses and buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip (REUTERS)

Israel-Hamas War: The world is closely following the developments in the middle east where Israel is preparing to launch a ground offensive against Hamas targets in Gaza. As a huge humanitarian crisis looms in the region, world leaders are reconsidering their positions and even Israel's strongest ally United States (US) is asking the Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government to be cautious.

US President Joe Biden stressed on the need to eliminate Hamas from Gaza but also spoke about a “path to a Palestinian state." The American President also warned against Israeli re-occupation of Gaza and said such a move would be a “big mistake."

The cautious tone from the US President comes amid the deployment of US warships in the region, positioned along the Gaza border. The US military is engaging in drills with the Israeli military on a broad campaign to dismantle Hamas.

The change in tone is also visible in the European world which was earlier unanimous in its support of Israel against the brutal attack by terrorist group Hamas. As Israel Defence Forces (IDF) began their onslaught against Hamas and the death toll started rising in Gaza, the European Union “called for the protection of civilians and restraint, the release of hostages, for allowing access to food, water, and medicines to Gaza in line with international humanitarian law."

Where do Russia and China stand in the conflict?


Russia and China have been sitting on the fence from the beginning of tension in the region and have repeatedly called for a ceasefire. As per the international observers, Russia doesn't want to take clear sides in the conflict due to its own geopolitical calculations, while China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Israel's actions “beyond the scope of self-defense."

Also Read: Palestine in focus? Putin to meet Xi Jinping in China amid Hamas-Israel conflict

As per experts, the US-led Western world is also keeping an eye on how long they can support Israel amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Despite some risks, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is clearly standing with Israel in its war against Hamas and even compared the terrorist group with Russia. “The only difference is that there is a terrorist organization that attacked Israel and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine. The intentions declared are different, but the essence is the same," Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly as per Aljazeera.

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