More than 6,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in Israeli bombardments, according to international news agencies and dailies. That figure includes the disputed toll from an explosion at a hospital last week.
The United Nations issued a stark warning on Thursday that “nowhere is safe” in Gaza amid stepped up Israeli air raids in preparation for a widely expected ground offensive. With Israel retaliating after Hamas's shock October 7 attacks with strikes on nearly every part of the Palestinian enclave, “people are left with nothing but impossible choices. Nowhere is safe in Gaza”.
The attacks and counter attacks during the war are still damaging civilian buildings, including apartment blocks, hospitals, schools, places of worship, and shops, impeding access to food and medicines. Witnessing the bloody war, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has again sent a message to the world leaders for peace, urging them to stop war and restore mutual respect among the nations.
She came up with this call while addressing the “Global Gateway Forum” conference in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium on Wednesday. She is constantly calling upon the global leaders to stop the war, saying the women and children are the worst sufferers of the war. Therefore, the game of arms and the arms race must stop.
We want to say that Israel has totally violated international law in Gaza. We are also urging an immediate ceasefire as Israel pounds the Palestinian territory in response to Hamas attacks, with the crisis deeply dividing the Security Council. Israel imposed a blockade of the impoverished territory, in place ever since, after Hamas took power, and it still occupies the West Bank.
Each passing day
of the war takes as
well as destroys
many lives in the
conflict zone
We are deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that the whole world is witnessing in Gaza. It should be clear that no party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law.
Apart from the global leaders, the Security Council of United Nations must take a clear stance to reassure two billion Arabs and Muslims that international law will be applied. According to the United Nations, the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Apart from Israel-Gaza conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war is also having a rippling effect on the global supply chain, fuelling dramatic cost increases and product shortages around the world. Besides, the conflict is also stretching the entire humanitarian system and could have a lasting impact on the ability of organisations to tackle emergencies worldwide.
The devastating knock-on effects are only growing as the conflict drags on, with rising food and fuel prices and worsening food crises. The conflict is a major blow to the global economy that will hurt growth and raise prices.
Beyond the suffering and humanitarian crisis from Israel and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Gaza respectively, the entire global economy will feel the effects of slower growth and faster inflation. The war has already pushed people to a critical breaking point across the globe.
The sanctions and counter sanctions are deeply hurting people around the globe, more so, those in the countries at direct conflict, and those in the developing and least developed world. So, our political parties should have strong commitment and solidarity in finding ways to overcome the crises caused by Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine wars that has rattled the global economy and added fresh challenges to Covid-19 recovery and SDG implementation process. Each passing day of the war takes as well as destroys many lives in the conflict zone, and also in the far-reaching corners of the world.
