What does Gaza's legendary steadfastness tell us?

A dust-covered Palestinian woman rushes with her baby in her arms to the hospital after Israeli shelling on Khan Younis (French)

Nearly a month and a half after the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the occupation is still unable to present an image of victory, even an alleged one, in the Gaza Strip, despite the massacres and war crimes it has committed there, and the latter has not been able to force the residents of the Gaza Strip to emigrate, which has so far thwarted the displacement project. The popular and military steadfastness of the resistance carries many connotations and places specific responsibilities on everyone.

Occupation Plans

From the very first moments of planning their aggression against the Gaza Strip, the occupation authorities announced very high ceiling targets regarding the Gaza Strip and the resistance there, especially Hamas. The declared goal of the aggression was to completely eradicate Hamas and its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, reoccupy the Gaza Strip, impose a new political reality after the war, and unconditionally release all prisoners held by the resistance.

In addition, and in line with it, statements were issued by the Israeli leaders of the need to empty the Gaza Strip of the population and move them to live in Sinai in Egypt, which was clearly adopted by the US administration, and its Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought in his regional tours to convince the countries of the region of it, which he did not succeed in at the time.

While the military objectives of the occupation have declined significantly over time under the pressure of the Palestinian resistance – the eradication has turned into weakening Hamas' capabilities and limiting its ability to threaten and launch future operations, and the release of prisoners has turned to the liberation of as many of them as possible and then to dealing with their file, and then to explicitly acknowledging the need to conclude an exchange deal – the displacement plan on the other hand is still in place and among the options, even if its circulation in the media has declined.

The US administration has specifically retracted this argument because of the explicit and decisive rejection of Egypt and the rest of the Arab countries with which Blinken met according to the announcement, but also because of the steadfastness of the people in their places and the courage of resistance in an unexpected way that the United States had, and statements were issued by the US president that the residents of Gaza should remain in the Strip. However, it can be said that this option is still on the table for the occupation, and this is supported by the situation on the ground.

The occupation focused on the northern Gaza Strip with a siege, shelling and destruction, with the aim of forcing people to move to the south, which was declared "safe", and announced more than once that the largest part of the northern population would move to the south, in what seemed to be the first phase of the plan. While saving a second phase for the south to force people to migrate outside the border towards Egypt from the Rafah crossing, where it plans to be the only outlet available to them to escape the machine of bombing, siege and starvation.

steadfastness

Despite all of the above – including the killing of every possibility of life in the northern Gaza Strip in particular, such as bombing hospitals, removing them from service, bakeries, places of worship, roads, UN schools, shelters, etc., and not allowing any aid to enter there, which carried a clear message that the area is no longer and will not be viable – the result was not as planned by the occupation, and as the logical expectation might be.

On November 40 – 400 full days after the comprehensive aggression – the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said that only 1,2 people out of 807.<> million people who lived in the northern governorates before the aggression have been displaced to other governorates in the center and south, and that <>,<> people still live in the Gaza and northern Gaza governorates, which refutes the Israeli propaganda that the north has emptied of the civilian population.

According to material and logical calculations, this steadfastness seems beyond the realm of reason, and refers to legendary and exceptional steadfastness without the slightest exaggeration. In a narrow geographical area, completely besieged – forbidden to enter food, water, medicine and other basic necessities of life for about a month and a half, raining down all kinds of death from rockets, missiles and lava – it is hard to imagine clinging to the place that means waiting for death to be killed, bleeding or starving. It is obvious that this was not what the occupation expected, which flouted all international laws, including the norms of war, and committed an unlimited number of war crimes, which could amount to the crime of genocide, in order to achieve a quick and decisive military victory over the resistance, and demographically through the displacement of people.

The failure of the residents of the Gaza Strip – especially the residents of the north – of the occupation plan so far does not negate the great human tragedy, and talking about steadfastness does not cancel the exceptional suffering faced by the people there without the slightest indication of the imminence of Faraj and the lifting of the siege on them or forcing the occupation to fulfill its obligations as an occupying power at a minimum.

On the other hand, a month and a half passed without the occupation being able to present a single "victory" image, even a claim, while it suffered very large losses - more than what it is forced to announce - in soldiers, officers, equipment and mechanisms, and with clear media embarrassment due to the documentation of the resistance operations and credibility gained in this field, in addition to its high morale, in the statements issued by it, and indicators of the safety of its military structure and its ability to control and manage the battle, and perhaps the announcement of the prisoner exchange deal, which reinforces this assessment as it carries the indication of submission to the occupation in this aspect.

Implications and responsibilities

At the forefront of the clear indications of this steadfastness is that the resistance has significantly prepared for a battle of this kind, with a long military, logistical and media breath, and that the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip are clinging to their land, confident in their resistance, benefiting from the lessons of the past, which resulted in their determination not to repeat the catastrophe of the Nakba and forced displacement, despite the inhumane conditions they suffer and the war crimes they are subjected to.

But resilience, on the other hand, is not only based on prior preparation, faith and persistence, but also on elements that must be acquired and strengthened, otherwise they will run out and/or be destroyed over time. Therefore, it is important to note that the statistics of the Palestinian Ministry of Health speak of the killing of a child every ten minutes on average due to the Israeli bombardment, which means that the time meter in Gaza is not counted in hours and minutes, but in lives and blood.

Therefore, this scene puts Arab and Islamic countries before their responsibilities as brotherly and friendly countries, as neighboring countries, as parties keen on Arab national security and stability in the region, as well as parties keen on preventing the continuation of the humanitarian tragedy, otherwise many will consider this an accomplicit position and not only a lax attitude towards the people of Gaza.

The first priority for all parties should be to bring aid to the people in the north and south of the Gaza Strip – without discrimination or acceptance of the conditions of the occupation – with a ceasefire, otherwise without it, this is the humanitarian duty on the one hand, and this can strengthen the resilience of the people on the other. Here, fifty-seven Arab and Muslim countries will face a major moral test after the joint Arab-Islamic summit took a decision to break the siege and bring in aid, a decision that is still awaited, as no timing or implementation mechanism has been specified.

The remaining parties, including political parties, currents, movements, elites, peoples and individuals, must not only mourn the human tragedy and be proud of the performance of the resistance, thus staying in the stands of spectators and applauding from afar in support or disapproval, but also move quickly to an active and pressing situation towards breaking the siege and opening the Rafah crossing for the entry of humanitarian aid as a first step that represents the minimum required.

The opening of the Rafah crossing must become a priority for all parties, to create a situation of pressure on the concerned, responsible and relevant authorities, such as: the occupation, the United States, the European Union, and other international institutions, as well as Arab and Islamic countries, foremost of which is Egypt, which owns the decision on the crossing in full.

Holding the occupation fully responsible and exerting pressure and demands on it is not valid in light of the recognition that the crossing cannot be opened without its consent, and that only what it approves can be passed and only those who do not object to it can be removed. Those who claim that this is the ceiling of their position and what they can do towards the siege of Gaza and the suffering of its people – which is certainly not true – deserve pressure, as well as the occupation.