Gaza on the brink-Israel and Hamas need to pull back to allow humanitarian intervention in the territory

• The sudden flare-up in Gaza between Palestinian militant groups and Israel is another grim reminder that the situation in the blockaded Mediterranean strip remains precarious.
• The latest violence was triggered by a botched spy operation by Israeli commandos inside Gaza that killed seven Palestinians, including a Hamas military commander.
• It was the heaviest Israeli attack since the 2014 war on the impoverished enclave of 1.82 million people.  The territory has been on the brink for years.
• In past wars, Israel inflicted enormous havoc on the enclave’s public infrastructure and caused high human casualties, while in retaliation Hamas fired rockets into Israel’s civilian areas.
• The situation has been particularly tense in recent months. In March, thousands of Palestinians marched towards the border, demanding their right to return to the homes and lands their families were expelled from in the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948, immediately after the creation of the state of Israel.
• About 750,000 Palestinians were estimated to have been forced out of their homes during the war.
• The March of Return protests continued on the border since then, and have often been met with live bullets fired by Israeli soldiers. It was against this background that Egypt and Qatar stepped in, offering to mediate talks and provide much-needed resources to the enclave.
• After both sides announced a ceasefire, violence on the border continued, underscoring how dangerous the situation is.

Thus, Gaza needs aid, not another war. War only results into death of innocents and held up negotiation and peace in one of most frazile area on the earth.

The Hindu