Israel began its most intense and murderous bombing of the besieged people of Gaza, signaling the approach of a genocidal invasion. The humanitarian aid that reaches Palestine is insignificant. “Diplomatic efforts” are a formality that benefits the aggressors. The Arab governments do not respond to the demands of their people, decidedly twinned with Palestine.
Sunday, October 22
It is already Sunday night, early Monday morning, in Palestine. Our correspondents report the most intense bombardment since the aggression began: “Currently, Gaza is being annihilated.” It seems that the Israeli army’s announcement yesterday that they would deepen their attack before the ground invasion is coming true.
1:15 am local time: Urgent: All hospitals in Gaza are now receiving a warning from the occupation that is threatening to bomb them.
1:19 am local time: They are now bombing the vicinity of the Al-Quds hospital in Gaza.
The update from a few hours ago shows at least 4,651 dead from the Israeli bombings, 70% of them minors, women and the elderly, and there are more than 14,000 injured. We will have to add those that result from the current brutal bombing. Palestinian children make up half of the 2.3 million inhabitants, live under shelling, crowded into shelters after fleeing their homes with little food and water, and are increasingly traumatized. Are they “side effects”? No. We realized this in ”Chronicles of Palestine 6”, with the parliamentary speech of Merav Ben Ari: “There is no equality between the children of Gaza and the children of Israel. The children of Gaza have brought this on themselves!” A miserable institutional murderer of the State, about which the North American and European “advanced democracies” do not say a word.
Early on Sunday morning, Israel simultaneously carried out an aerial attack with missiles from the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, and from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting the international airports of Damascus and Aleppo, which killed a civilian worker at the Damascus airport, injured another worker and caused material damage to the airports’ runways, putting them out of service. The Yemeni prime minister said Israeli ships will be attacked in the Red Sea if shelling continues on the Gaza Strip.
Hamas announced that it will not negotiate military hostages until the fire in Gaza ceases. The president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, rehashed the historic disaster of recognizing Israel when he stated: “the only solution for the region is the creation of two states in the former Palestine.” The Guardian reports that Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are urging their followers to attack Israeli and American targets around the world. The two events are deeply related. The massive disappointment of the Palestinians with their historical, secular and once left-leaning leadership allows political Islam to position itself as those who confront Zionism and imperialism.
In the “upside-down world” North American and European imperialism defends Israel’s “right to defend itself” as if it were a victim. The cynicism of Western imperialists surpasses any measurement of magnitude. Israel wants to erase Palestine from the map and ethnically cleanse its inhabitants, not since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked it, but since May 14, 1948, when the State of Israel was artificially created.
Although tons of food and humanitarian aid are accumulating for the Palestinians, the second batch consists of a paltry 17 trucks. In Gaza hospitals, doctors operate with the light of their cell phones and suture wounds with sewing needles. There are outbreaks of scabies, chickenpox and diarrhea. Fuel reserves are bottoming out. The promoted imperialist-Israeli humanitarian unlocking is a criminal mockery of solidarity.
As in Ukraine, in the Middle East conflict there is also a dispute over the true account of events. In the media, Israel’s murderous role is minimized or directly hidden, and they try to control social networks. The EU gave Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and Tik-Tok until Wednesday the 25th to present details about efforts to stop “illegal content” and “disinformation” about the conflict. The powerful Israeli-imperialist propaganda lobby that acts in all countries to spread misinformation prevails.
Yesterday, “Boycott Israel” actions were carried out in Barcelona and solidarity activists momentarily occupied the Hotel Cortés, owned by a Zionist magnate. The genocidal embassy in Spain considers it an «anti-Semitic act». Germany banned a pro-Palestine demonstration scheduled for today. Yesterday in Lima, Peru, people demonstrated with Palestinian flags and scarves. Today, thousands of people demonstrated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in favor of Palestine. In San Pablo, more than 5,000 people mobilized. The ISL and its Brazilian section, Socialist Revolution, were present. There are solidarity mobilizations in countries as distant as Pakistan and Ecuador.
Yesterday’s mobilization in London, of between 150,000 and 300,000 people, went beyond the prohibitions, the dozens of arrests that had been made and the government’s threats to repress «with the full force of the law» the protests supporting “terrorist violence” as it considers support for the Palestinian people.
The Arab peoples deepen their rebellion against their traitorous bourgeois governments. Its massive mobilization, international solidarity, and the challenge of breaking the media siege that covers the Zionist genocide are the way forward.
In countries on the five continents, our International Socialist League promotes demonstrations and carries out an active solidarity campaign.