https://sputnikglobe.com/20231017/life-in-gaza-and-west-bank-grows-more-precarious-amid-israeli-military-crackdown-1114255790.html
Life in Gaza and West Bank Grows More Precarious Amid Israeli Military Crackdown
Life in Gaza and West Bank Grows More Precarious Amid Israeli Military Crackdown
Sputnik International
Palestinian human rights activist Issa Amro told how the Israeli-occupied West Bank was under army siege, while Veteran war reporter Elijah Magnier predicted Israel would not risk a ground offensive against Gaza.
2023-10-17T16:01+0000
2023-10-17T16:01+0000
2024-01-30T10:27+0000
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The daily struggle to survive in the Palestinian territories has become near-impossible amid the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza and security crackdown in the West Bank.West Bank resident Issa Amro told Sputnik that his home city of Hebron had been completely locked down by Israeli forces.The human rights activist said troops were stopping him and his neighbours from even going out to buy food and water since the day after Hamas and other militant groups in the besieged Gaza Strip launched attacks on Israeli military posts and settlements around the enclave."It's a curfew in my neighborhood and [they are] telling me in Hebrew that the people are not able to go outside their homes, so they are not able to get food. They are not able to get anything to survive since maybe since October 8th," Amro stressed. "I'm not able to try to help my people."He said 'hard-line Zionists' from the many illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank had used the Hamas offensive as a pretext to step up their attacks on Palestinian communities and seize their land."They are making our life very, very hard," he continued. "They are trying to push the Palestinians from many, many communities in area C in Jerusalem. It's about creating 'facts on the ground'."While thousands have been killed in the Israeli bombing of Gaza, the West Bank has not been spared the bloodshed either.War reporter Elijah Magnier told Sputnik that he did not believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would risk a ground invasion of Gaza, despite vowing — along with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — to "destroy Hamas".He pointed out that Netanyahu had already faced mass protests before the sudden escalation in the conflict over his government's attempts to shake up the liberal-dominated supreme court."Militarily, we see a very large force of the Israeli army gathering at the gate of Gaza ready to break in," Magnier continued, noting that the dense urban environment of the enclave made it "extremely challenging — and the complexity and uncertainty of the outcome is making the political and the army hesitant in breaking in."Previous Israeli government pledges to comprehensively defeat Hamas have gone unfulfilled, with the movement only growing stronger.Conditions inside Gaza were unimaginable as Israel has cut off electricity, running water, food and other supplies and rejected international calls to allow humanitarian aid convoys to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt.The journalist said it was ironic that US Secretary of state Antony Blinken was silent about that after accusing Russia of a "war crime" for targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure."But Israel can get away with it," Magnier observed. "There is no water, there is no electricity in Gaza. People are drinking sewage water, boiling it."The latest figures from the IDF on Monday updated the number of soldiers killed so far to 291, with 199 more taken prisoner Hamas and other groups along with civilian hostages. Militants say more than 20 Israeli captives have been killed so far by their own air force's bombing — which has also claimed the lives of more than 3,000 Palestinian civilians, with 12,500 injured. The journalist asserted that was in line with Israel's "Hannibal Doctrine.""The Hannibal Doctrine allows the Israeli army to kill any Israeli officer taken hostage, because negotiating over a body is much less costly than negotiating over a person, any Israeli that is alive."For more incisive commentary on world events, tune in to our Sputnik Radio shows.
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hamas attacks on southern israel, israeli bombing of gaza, antony blinken and joe biden visit israel, hezbollah threatens israel with second front
hamas attacks on southern israel, israeli bombing of gaza, antony blinken and joe biden visit israel, hezbollah threatens israel with second front
Life in Gaza and West Bank Grows More Precarious Amid Israeli Military Crackdown
16:01 GMT 17.10.2023 (Updated: 10:27 GMT 30.01.2024) Palestinian human rights activist Issa Amro told how the Israeli-occupied West Bank was under army siege, while Veteran war reporter Elijah Magnier predicted Israel would not risk a ground offensive against Gaza.
The daily struggle to survive in the Palestinian territories has become near-impossible amid the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza and security crackdown in the West Bank.
West Bank resident
Issa Amro told Sputnik that his home city of Hebron had been completely locked down by Israeli forces.
"I'm in my house, locked in. I'm not able to go out," he said. "Yesterday, the soldiers detained me and attacked me. And every time the soldiers pass by, they say bad words."
The human rights activist said troops were stopping him and his neighbours from even going out to buy food and water since the day after Hamas and other militant groups in the besieged Gaza Strip launched attacks on Israeli military posts and settlements around the enclave.
"It's a curfew in my neighborhood and [they are] telling me in Hebrew that the people are not able to go outside their homes, so they are not able to get food. They are not able to get anything to survive since maybe since October 8th," Amro stressed. "I'm not able to try to help my people."
He said 'hard-line Zionists' from the many illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank had used the Hamas offensive as a pretext to step up their attacks on Palestinian communities and seize their land.
"We knew that the Israeli settlers and Israeli fanatic leaders will use this violence circle to go on with their political agenda," Amro explained. "But since Saturday, since October 7th, the settlers attacked many, many Palestinian communities. They are trying to take more Palestinian properties in my neighborhood and an old Palestinian private factory."
"They are making our life very, very hard," he continued. "They are trying to push the Palestinians from many, many communities in area C in Jerusalem. It's about creating 'facts on the ground'."
While thousands have been killed in the Israeli bombing of Gaza, the West Bank has not been spared the bloodshed either.
16 October 2023, 20:17 GMT
War reporter
Elijah Magnier told Sputnik that he did not believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would risk a ground invasion of Gaza, despite vowing — along with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — to "destroy Hamas".
"Politically, it is not happening because the Israeli government is thinking about all the losses and all the challenges that are in Gaza that will add to the already 1,500 Israelis killed and 2,500 [wounded] in the first days of this conflict," Magnier argued.
He pointed out that Netanyahu had already faced mass protests before the sudden escalation in the conflict over his government's attempts to shake up the liberal-dominated supreme court.
"Militarily, we see a very large force of the Israeli army gathering at the gate of Gaza ready to break in," Magnier continued, noting that the dense urban environment of the enclave made it "extremely challenging — and the complexity and uncertainty of the outcome is making the political and the army hesitant in breaking in."
Previous Israeli government pledges to comprehensively defeat Hamas have gone unfulfilled, with the movement only growing stronger.
"Hamas fighters have an accumulated wealth of experience from battles not only in Palestine against Israelis, but also in Syria and Iraq, where they were part of all these wars and also in Lebanon, because they are part of the axis of the resistance with the Lebanese Hezbollah, and they share this kind of experience," Magnier explained. "Moreover, there are traps in Gaza. The Israeli army is going into an area full of traps."
Conditions inside Gaza were unimaginable as Israel has cut off electricity, running water, food and other supplies and rejected international calls to allow humanitarian aid convoys to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt.
The journalist said it was ironic that US Secretary of state Antony Blinken was silent about that after accusing Russia of a "war crime" for targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
"But Israel can get away with it," Magnier observed. "There is no water, there is no electricity in Gaza. People are drinking sewage water, boiling it."
The latest figures from the IDF on Monday updated the number of soldiers killed so far to 291, with 199 more taken prisoner Hamas and other groups along with civilian hostages. Militants say more than 20 Israeli captives have been killed so far by their own air force's bombing — which has also claimed the lives of more than
3,000 Palestinian civilians, with 12,500 injured.
The journalist asserted that was in line with Israel's "Hannibal Doctrine."
"The Hannibal Doctrine allows the Israeli army to kill any Israeli officer taken hostage, because negotiating over a body is much less costly than negotiating over a person, any Israeli that is alive."
For more incisive commentary on world events, tune in to our Sputnik Radio shows. 
