Middle East Insights | Israel-Palestine 2024: Israel's 'iron sword' and the uncontrollable pandora's box of turmoil

The Middle East has been engulfed in intense upheaval throughout 2024, sparked by a new round of large-scale conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The violence has persisted from January to December, with the epicenter in Gaza. The conflict began in October last year when Hamas launched the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation against Israel, prompting the Israeli military to initiate the "Iron Sword" campaign against Gaza.

What was once a fertile coastal plain has turned into a humanitarian abyss, marked by displacement, casualties, hunger, and devastation. As the Israeli military expands its operations, similar scenes of destruction ripple across the region. Under the shadow of the "Iron Sword," peace remains elusive.

Military operations escalate

After a brief ceasefire ended in December last year, the Israeli military resumed large-scale operations in Gaza.

In April, the Israeli army temporarily withdrew, leading to speculation about possible peace talks. Some optimists believed it was a step toward negotiations, while others suspected preparations for a full-scale assault on Rafah in southern Gaza. Ultimately, the latter proved true. Following a period of regrouping, the Israeli military launched a massive offensive against Rafah, defying international condemnation.

In 14 months of conflict, over 150,000 people in Gaza have been killed or injured, with children bearing the brunt. According to UN agencies, an average of one child has died every hour during the conflict. Gaza now holds the grim title of having the highest number of amputees per capita globally, with many children undergoing surgeries without anesthesia due to resource shortages.

Accompanying the relentless airstrikes and shelling are forced evacuations. The UN reports that over 80 percent of Gaza is under Israeli evacuation orders, with more than 90 percent of the population displaced, many forced to flee multiple times under life-threatening conditions.

"There is no safe place in Gaza."
"My entire family is still under the rubble."
"This is the seventh time I've been displaced by an attack."
"I waited six hours in line just to buy this bag of bread."
"I can't find any medicine to treat my chronic illness; I can only wait to die."
"Every night, all I hear are explosions and my mother's cries."

These are the voices of the people we interviewed, and these are the words we hear most often.

Since the conflict began, humanitarian aid corridors into Gaza have been entirely under the control of the Israeli military. This began in May when Israel besieged Rafah and took control of the Philadelphia Corridor. According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly half of the aid requests submitted by international relief organizations since the start of the year have been rejected by Israeli authorities.

In northern Gaza, following the renewed blockade and intense attacks launched by the Israeli military in October this year, almost no aid has entered the area for over two months. Severe shortages of supplies and skyrocketing prices have caused famine to spread across Gaza.

Meanwhile, Gaza's infrastructure has been almost destroyed, with over 70 percent of civilian facilities completely ruined. The estimated costs directly related to reconstruction are nearing $20 billion. Fourteen months of relentless warfare have rendered Gaza unrecognizable from its former state, turning it into what can only be described as a "living hell."

Amid such a severe humanitarian crisis, the Israeli parliament passed a controversial bill in October this year, citing alleged connections to Hamas personnel. The law prohibits the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in Israel or through Israel in Palestinian territories.

This audacious move has sparked strong condemnation and criticism from the international community. The United Nations has also expressed grave concerns, warning of catastrophic consequences for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. However, it remains powerless to alter Israel's unilateral actions.

U.S. Unilateral Bias

Despite repeated international calls for a ceasefire, large-scale demonstrations by Israeli citizens pressuring their government, and active mediation efforts by countries like Egypt and Qatar, a ceasefire agreement remains elusive.

Media outlets widely attribute this impasse to the significant divergence in positions between the two sides. The current Israeli government demands the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas while maintaining its firm stance on the complete eradication of Hamas and the continuation of long-term military control over Gaza. Israel has refused to compromise on issues such as stationing troops in the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Military Corridor.

On the other hand, Hamas insists on a permanent ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal, and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza. These entrenched and opposing demands have created a seemingly insurmountable divide, leaving little hope for immediate resolution.

In July, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Just over two months later, Haniyeh's successor, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Israel has continuously exerted pressure on Hamas through various means, aiming to weaken its capabilities and soften its negotiating stance, yet these efforts have yielded no tangible results.

In October, the Israeli military suddenly imposed a stringent blockade on northern Gaza. Israeli media suggest that Israel is gradually implementing the so-called "General Plan" for northern Gaza, which involves severing connections, blocking aid, and enforcing extreme isolation. The plan aims to turn northern Gaza into a fully militarized exclusion zone, ultimately forcing Hamas to surrender.

The United Nations and the international community have strongly condemned Israel's actions, while Hamas has declared its intention to continue resisting until the end.

In December, there were positive signs in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, with both Israel and Hamas indicating progress in the talks. However, soon after, both sides began accusing each other of creating obstacles. During the negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not end the war until Hamas is eliminated. This stance was met with criticism from opposition parties within Israel, accusing Netanyahu of obstructing the agreement to consolidate his political position.

Regarding the issue of Israeli military withdrawal, despite reports that Hamas had agreed to a gradual withdrawal rather than an immediate pullout, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant emphasized that the Israeli military must retain "security control" over Gaza. Once again, the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza seemed to fade away.

In addition to the irreconcilable differences between Israel and Hamas, the prolonged conflict is also significantly tied to U.S. bias and support for Israel. Since the outbreak of this large-scale Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. has called for a ceasefire on one hand while continually providing military support to Israel. It has repeatedly vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire, exposing the absurdity and hypocrisy of its actions.

According to U.S. media statistics, since October 7 of last year, the United States has provided approximately $18 billion in military support to Israel, setting a historic record. In November this year, despite the approval of a Gaza ceasefire resolution by all other 14 members of the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. once again vetoed this resolution for the sixth consecutive time. It can be said that it is precisely because of the U.S.'s unwavering support for Israel on the international stage that Israel has been able to disregard international law and the pressures and challenges from the global community. The United States is one of the key factors prolonging the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

West Bank slips toward Gaza-like crisis

Broken homes, vanished villages—these scenes now extend beyond Gaza and have spread throughout Palestine. In the West Bank, although not a frontline of large-scale conflict, the region is constantly being battered by the ravages of war.

In August, Israeli forces launched a ten-day military operation in Jenin and surrounding refugee camps. What CMG reporters witnessed on the ground were homes of local residents reduced to rubble under Israeli artillery fire, a stark reflection of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has remained unresolved for over half a century.

As the conflict continues, the flames of war quickly spread beyond the Israeli-Palestinian borders, far exceeding its original scope.

In April, Israel launched an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria, resulting in multiple fatalities. In retaliation, Iran launched a large-scale missile attack on Israel, and the two sides engaged in intense aerial combat. The conflict escalated again in October, with Iran firing approximately 200 missiles at Israel in response to Israel's targeted killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

This marked a further slide toward a broader regional conflict.

Israel-Lebanon Escalation: Tensions with aggressive military actions

If the conflict between Israel and Iran could be seen as an exchange of blows at a distance, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has dramatically escalated, quickly reaching the stage of direct confrontation.

The escalation began in September when devices used by Hezbollah members, including pagers and walkie-talkies, exploded simultaneously across the country, resulting in at least 37 deaths and thousands of injuries.

In response, Israel launched targeted strikes against Hezbollah's leadership, with the organization's leader, Nasrallah, being among those targeted. Israel continued to intensify its offensive against Hezbollah, culminating in a ground assault on October 1. CMG reporters immediately traveled to the temporary Israel-Lebanon border to cover the situation.

Although a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Lebanon on November 27, the scars caused by the fighting are unlikely to heal in the short term.

The war has not only affected the people of Lebanon, but also the residents of northern Israel, who live in constant tension and fear of rocket attacks.

In addition, the conflict between Israel and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as with Iraqi militia groups, continues. Recently, Israel has carried out a series of airstrikes on Yemen, while the Houthi forces have been persistently launching missiles towards Israel, with tensions between the two sides showing signs of further escalation.

Following significant changes in the situation in Syria, Israel has boldly deployed troops to military buffer zones between the two countries and even to southern Syria, signaling the possibility of a prolonged military presence.

The Middle East in 2024 has been plagued by constant warfare and immense suffering. Civilians in Gaza struggle to survive amid the conflict, while the people of Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, and Syria also bear the brunt of the violence. However, with the strong backing of the United States, military force has become Israel's primary tool in addressing regional conflicts.

The war has caused significant casualties and material losses, further deepening the region's long-standing instability. At the same time, it has become evident that the so-called "Iron Sword" is incapable of severing the root causes of Middle Eastern turmoil.

Will peace come in 2025? We don't know, but what is certain is that only when the Israel-Palestine issue is resolved fairly and the United States halts its one-sided bias and interference can the Middle East hope to see the dawn of true peace.

Supervisor: Mu Li

Producer: Li Chao, Wang Xuejing

Reporter: Zhao Bing

(Cover: Children warm by the fire at the Bureij camp for displaced Palestinians on December 30, 2024. /CFP)