“Only the dead have seen the end of war”, George Santayana, the Spanish-American philosopher countered the then President Woodrow Wilson during World War I.

At the restarted 10th Emergency Special Session meeting, the UN General Assembly voted on a resolution about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. A resolution asking for an urgent and permanent “humanitarian truce” in Gaza, was adopted by the UN General Assembly.

Devastation, depredation, wreckage, ruins, is less to describe what war leads to. A political conflict between groups involving “hostilities” of sufficiently equal power to render an outcome in uncertain time. This is what war is described as philosophically. But that isn’t it. When a child is orphaned, his home bombed, food and water deprived, that’s war reckoning.

Every war the world saw, gave no peace or solution except a remorse of what it brought along. The resentful memories of minor conflicts wasn’t enough that the world is engulfed into another crisis situation.

The Middle east is on fire and not even an organization like the UN is able to end the bombardments amidst the growing humanitarian assaults. As much as the world is denouncing the invasion and seeking a ceasefire while the human lives perish.

Second stage of Israel Hamas war

On Sunday, the Israeli military increased the intensity of its bombings in Gaza, damaging another hospital nearby and even targeting the main hospital.

In the besieged enclave, thousands of civilians burst into aid warehouses in search of food and necessities. The region’s phone and internet access was lost.

The three-week-old conflict entered a “second stage,” according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,  who also declared that this is a battle for Israel’s survival, he said, “‘Never again’ is now.” Israel is committed to freeing the 239 hostages that Hamas kidnapped on October 7. Till now four hostages were freed by Hamas.

According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, the number of Palestinian deaths has surpassed 8,000, with women  and children making up the majority. Over 110 Palestinians have lost their lives in violence and Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s battle against Hamas moved into a new phase on Saturday, when it expanded its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, blacking out almost all communication. According to the Israeli military, the main objective is to demolish and dismantle Hamas.

The leader of the Hamas air force, Asem Abu Rakaba, was killed by Israeli Defense Forces airstrikes, the force announced. Additionally, the IDF said that its intelligence had concluded that Ratib Abu Tzahiban, the commander of Hamas’ naval, had been killed by airstrikes.

The Israeli forces had notified the people of Gaza to evaluate and move to south  Gaza. However the ground attack bombed the densely refuged South Gaza.

According to reports, Gaza City’s largest hospital, Al Shifa Hospital was also hit with airstrikes where thousands of  civilians seek refuge. Intelligence about the Hamas organization sheltering and misusing other hospitals for military ends and utilizing Gaza’s largest hospital as its headquarters was reported,  the organization has denied these accusations. 

The UN speaks on war

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Friday demanding a “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas. In addition, as Israel has increased its operations and stepped up its bombing assault, the UN calls for “continuous, sufficient, and unhindered” provision of life-saving supplies and services for civilians stranded in the war.

It was the first formal UN reaction to the violence that has escalated in Israel and Palestine since October 7, following four Security Council failures to agree on any course of action.

The Assembly passed a significant resolution, sponsored by Jordan and supported by more than forty-five Member States, advocating for a “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.”

A motion to specifically denounce Hamas was put out by Canada and supported by more than 35 Member States, including the US. However, the motion was not approved because it lacked the necessary two-thirds of the vote.

What was INDIA’S TAKE on the conflict ?

Ambassador Yojna Patel, India’s Deputy Permanent Representative, called for the prompt release of the hostages, describing the October 7 terror assaults as disturbing. She stated that there are still casualties in Gaza and that the situation needs to be resolved.

India did not vote for the resolution.

She called on the parties to defuse the situation and move toward starting meaningful peace talks, while also applauding the current efforts and restating support for the two-State solution.

Along with humanitarian organizations and experts in international law, the UN issued a warning that Israel might be retaliating for Hamas’ horrific war crimes by committing war crimes of its own.

Speaking to reporters on Friday in Geneva, U.N. human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani expressed, “We are concerned that war crimes are being committed.” “We are concerned about the collective punishment of Gazans in response to the atrocious attacks by Hamas, which also amounted to war crimes.”

On Tuesday, the Emergency Special Session will meet again, with nations continuing their discussion.

War crimes

After three weeks of fighting and a tight closure on Gaza, the aid warehouse break-ins were “a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down,” according to Thomas White, Gaza head of UNRWA, the U.N. organization for Palestinian refugees. “People are desperate, angry, and afraid.”

According to UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma, on Saturday, the crowds burst into four different sites. Fuel, which has been severely lacking since Israel cut off all shipments, was not found in the warehouses, according to her.

Robert Mardini, the director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, stated on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that hospitals “should never be bombed.”

According to Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, emergency director, Nasser Hospital was providing shelter to almost 20,000 individuals. “I slept here with my kids,” a displaced resident identified only as Umm Ahmad said. “I used to get scared when I saw my kids having fun in the sand. Because there is blood on the floor, now their hands are filled with blood.

The occupation once again threatens to bomb Al-Quds #Hospital in Gaza and demands its immediate evacuation.The hospital currently includes more than 400 patients and approximately 12,000 #displaced civilians who sought refuge in the hospital as a safe place, in addition to the… pic.twitter.com/dnoweKSCz9

— State of Palestine – MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) October 29, 2023

There were 29 confirmed killed journalists: 4 Israelis, 1 Lebanese, and 24 Palestinians.

There were reports of 8 injured journalists. Nine journalists were said to be in custody or missing with constant attacks, censorship, threats, arrests, and family member killings of those that persist.

At least 8000 Palestinians have perished in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s retaliation strikes. The majority of these were civilians, and more than half minors.