Gaza’s Defiance: US-Israeli Alliances and the Ethics of War

Israel’s ethnic cleansing: 2023 Palestinian exodus from northern Gaza.

Elijah J. Magnier:

As dawn broke over the besieged Gaza Strip, the distant rumble of tanks and the whirr of drones signalled a new chapter in the long-running conflict. In a calculated display of military precision, Israeli forces have launched a multi-front offensive, entering the coastal enclave from strategic points in a bid to reshape the battlefield. This latest surge in violence comes amid a crescendo of international outcry, with the United States and Israel at the epicentre of condemnation for their roles in the indiscriminate and systematic killing and collective punishment of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians.

The unfolding scenario in Gaza is not only a testament to the ongoing strife that has plagued the region but also a reflection of the complex interplay of military power and geopolitical alliances. The involvement of US military assets, including special forces and advanced drone technology, underlines the strategic depth of the conflict and reveals a web of shared intelligence, combat expertise, and logistical support that binds the US and Israel in pursuit of objectives that have so far eluded them due to the staunch resistance of the city’s defenders.

This story is about the clash of weapons, the resilience of a population under siege, and the moral dilemmas of modern warfare. As the tanks roll in and the drones hover overhead, the world watches with bated breath, pondering the human cost of conflict and the price of peace in Palestine, where history is written in the language of loss and defiance. In the face of an overwhelming Israeli military presence, with tens of thousands of soldiers and dozens of tanks pouring into the northern reaches of the Gaza Strip, not a single member of the Palestinian resistance has surrendered. Amid the cacophony of battle, no white flags have been raised, signalling the unyielding defiance of the owners of this densely populated enclave despite the daily massacre of children in Gaza.

The Gaza Strip, a narrow landmass bordering the Mediterranean Sea and flanked by Egypt and Israel, covers an area slightly more than twice the size of Washington, D.C. Its 140 square miles (363 square km) of territory is a landscape of flat to gently rolling terrain, with vast expanses of sand and dunes defining the coastal plain.

At 41 kilometres (25 miles) long and 6 to 12 kilometres (3.7 to 7.5 miles) wide, the modest dimensions of the Gaza Strip belie the intensity of the conflict within. The Israeli military’s current operations focus on a particularly narrow strip, just 6 kilometres wide at its narrowest point and 13 kilometres long. In this limited area, Israeli forces have unleashed a staggering 25,000 tonnes of explosives over the past 31 days – an amount equivalent to almost one and a half times the yield of an atomic bomb – and have amassed tens of thousands of men and hundreds of tanks, backed by artillery, naval and air power.

As Israeli infantry units advance, they often meet fierce resistance. In response, the Israeli Air Force is called in to provide close air support, targeting specific objectives to pave the way for ground forces. This combined arms strategy, integrating infantry advances with supposedly precision air strikes, underscores the intensity of the military campaign within the densely populated confines of the Gaza Strip.

In a coordinated military manoeuvre, Israeli forces have launched a multi-front invasion of the Gaza Strip, advancing from the northwest along the coastal line, from the northeast and through a central route that effectively bisects the region, cutting off the northern areas from the south.