Horror visions have been piling up since Saturday. Here a shot Israeli couple lies in front of their car on a street. There, an old lady is taken away by armed men in a golf cart. Here corpses with shattered faces in front of destroyed buildings.
Elsewhere, men and women are running in all directions, trying to escape the bombings. On one side Israel, on the other Gaza. Horrible images. “It’s Israel’s 9/11,” declares one commentator, while another in France mentions the attacks of November 13, 2015. An Israeli general went even further and talked about Pearl Harbor.
The attack, launched Saturday morning by Hamas militants with support from other Palestinian groups, was a bloodbath. More than 700 people were killed, many of them civilians. Some – we’re talking about a hundred – were captured and taken to the Gaza Strip. Her fate is currently unknown. There is global excitement over the photos and videos that have emerged on social media.
On Monday, the Foreign Minister announced the death of a second Frenchman, “victim of Hamas terrorist attacks,” and no news remained on the Quai d’Orsay about several nationals there.
Attacked in the middle of a rave party
The trauma experienced by the Israeli population is immense – this was undoubtedly one of the objectives pursued by those who planned these very large-scale attacks. Among the most striking testimonies are those of rave party attendees who were attacked even though they were unarmed and posed no threat.
One of them, Tal, told France Info that she remained among the bodies for several minutes: “There were 70 of us in a bomb shelter. (…) The terrorists have arrived. They told us that everything was fine, that they were soldiers. And then they threw a grenade and then they shot into the shelter. (…) At the same time, a girl fell and her body lay on the ground. (…) Then they threw another grenade. My friend was with the girl and they both fell to the ground. »
With Israelis still reeling from the attacks on their soil and Palestinian attackers still on the ground, the Israeli army continued to battle on Monday morning against Palestinian fighters who had entered the area at “seven or eight” points around the Gaza Strip Military spokesman – all Western countries have sided with Israel, “which has the right to defend itself,” as Chancellor Olaf Scholz put it.
Tel Aviv did not hesitate and relentlessly bombarded the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, killing at least 560 people since Saturday. In addition, more than 200 Palestinians (including 50 minors) were killed in 2023. “During the night, fighter jets, helicopters, aircraft and artillery attacked more than 500 targets in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli army said in a report on Monday.
In addition, three UN-administered schools, intended to serve as inviolable refuges for the population, were targeted by Israeli bombings. Since September 13, peaceful demonstrations in the Gaza Strip have left at least six dead and 50 injured, including two Palestinian journalists. A macabre count.
Gazans are treated as “human animals” by Israel’s defense minister
And the European Union’s decision to suspend its development aid to the Palestinian territories risks making the situation even worse. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), which speaks of “more than 17,500 families affected,” the shelling of Gaza has led to the displacement of 123,538 people, “mainly out of fear, concern for their protection and.” the destruction of their homes.” Food distribution, which had previously benefited 112,759 Palestinian families, had to be suspended.
“We will transform the Middle East,” declared Benjamin Netanyahu. A statement that also makes people fear the worst for their fellow citizens, whose trust in the government to ensure their security has been severely shaken after this weekend’s attacks, and despite Israel being considered a country with one of the most advanced security systems in the world.
“The Hamas organization has committed a shocking crime,” denounced the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. She adds: “Israel, of course, cannot wash its hands and evade responsibility for what happened: government ministers are now calling for murder, destruction, bombing, destruction and even starvation against the residents of the Gaza Strip.” »
A reference to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s statements on Monday morning. “I have ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip. No electricity, no food, no gas. Everything is closed. We fight human animals and act accordingly,” Haaretz newspaper quoted him as saying.
However, dissonant voices can be heard in Israel. While Israelis denounce Hamas’ abuses, they also question the occupation policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. Even before the events of October 7, the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (Ochoa) published a graphic showing the number of deaths on both sides between 2008 and 2023: 6,407 on the Palestinian side, 308 on the Israeli side. During the same period, more than 152,000 Palestinians and 6,300 Israelis were injured. With peaks that correspond to Israeli operations against the Gaza Strip.
Perhaps we should take inspiration from the words of this man, this Israeli father whose daughter was captured by a Palestinian group on Saturday. He is not calling for revenge or the destruction of Gaza and “human animals,” to use the defense minister’s words. “Gaza also has victims… mothers who cry… Let’s use this emotion, we are two nations of one father, let’s create peace, real peace. » A cry that must be heard, in both Hebrew and Arabic.
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